Jose Mourinho has rejected the accusation he is a manager who does not give young players a chance.
The Manchester United boss has been accused of failing to promote youth throughout his managerial career, relying instead on big names and experienced players for his success.
But Mourinho, who has put his faith in 19-year-old Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard, 24, since arriving at Old Trafford last summer, poured scorn on his perceived aversion to blooding the kids.
“The reputation is the reputation,” he said.
“But the other day I found myself in the tunnel before the Real Madrid game and I’m not talking about the second half because they were kids who were 15 or 16 during my time there... but in the first half, more than half the Real team - which was their first-team, because they were only missing Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos - all these guys started with me and had debuts with me [when he was Madrid boss from 2010-13].
“They came into the first-team with me, they trained with me when they were 15 and 16-years-old - Nacho, Casemiro, Carvajal, Marcelo, who was 22. Almost all of them.
“So probably in a few years Manchester United will also have half a dozen of these kids. I think Scott McTominay and Demetri Mitchell [both 20]are also kids to have a future in the club, and [21-year-old] Andreas Pereira is back [from a season's loan at Spanish side Granada].
“So when the kids are good and have potential, there’s no problem.”