March 8 – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will be a pundit for Russia Today (RT) during this summer’s World Cup. The international broadcast network is funded by the Kremlin and often perceived as a controversial mouthpiece of Vladimir Putin’s regime.
RT revealed their ‘new signing’ on Monday. The channel is not a rights-holder, but will provide plenty of coverage, in the form of live text commentary and reports, during the tournament.
In a promotional video, Mourinho pretended to coach an RT crew on how to cover the World Cup. “Guys, I know you are nervous. This is a huge tournament and a huge amount of pressure,” Mourinho said to the journalists. “We will show the world a great game – the greatest game.”
The United boss added in a statement that he was “very happy to join the team at RT” and share his insights into the five weeks of matches that kick off in Moscow on June 14. No fee was disclosed for Mourinho’s engagement.
Mourinho will join a line-up of two former Premier League players as presenters: ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore.
“We continue to put together the RT dream team. Now we have a coach,” said Russia Today’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan.
Still, the reputation of RT remains highly questionable. The channel was dropped by a slate of American TV providers after the investigation into Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 US election.
RT has several foreign language services besides English and is particularly active on YouTube. The broadcaster is actively trying to expand into Europe and late last year launched a French language channel in Paris, notwithstanding French president, Emmanuel Macron, labelling RT a spreader of “deceitful propaganda”.
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