Mourinho insists he respects departing Wenger despite bitter rivalry

For all the animosity between them, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he's never lost respect for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who announced Friday he's stepping down at the end of this season.

The two managers have butted heads on more than one occasion since Mourinho first took over as Chelsea's boss in 2004. Mourinho famously referred to his Arsenal counterpart as a "specialist in failure" in 2014, while Wenger's frustration with the Portuguese manager looked to reach a breaking point when he memorably shoved Mourinho on the sideline later that same year.

But though Mourinho has hurled his share of insults toward Wenger, he maintains he still holds the 68-year-old in the highest regard.

“Players that get yellow cards and red cards by aggressive actions against each other, bad words during the career - the manager is the same thing," Mourinho said at a news conference Friday, courtesy of The Telegraph's Sam Wallace. "The ones that respect each other more are the ones with the problems.

"So it happened. What matters for me is the way I respect the person, the professional, the career. ... What he gave to Arsenal in the period without Premier Leagues, the transition from stadium to stadium, we know what he did. If he's happy with the decision, I'm really happy and I hope he doesn't retire from football."

The two managers will square off one final time when Arsenal travels to Old Trafford on April 29, and Mourinho hopes United will give Wenger the appropriate send-off.

"I'm pretty sure as a club - and especially because Mr. Wenger and Arsenal were for many, many years the biggest rivals of Sir Alex (Ferguson's) era - we will show Mr. Wenger the respect he deserves," Mourinho added.