Nemanja Matic has defended his manager Jose Mourinho, calling his public persona a 'brand'.

The Manchester United boss caused a stir on Wednesday when he accused some of peers of 'crying' about injuries. His slant caught the ire of Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, who fired back at the Portuguese.

But Matic says he is a different person in private and the Serbian credited him with being the primary reason why he joined United from the Blues last summer.

"Mourinho is a brand, and the best coach I've ever worked with," Matic told Air Serbia's in-flight magazine Elevate.

"Sometimes it isn't easy to work with him, because he always demands more. Even when you play the best match in your career, he considers that you can play better in the next match.

"I cooperated excellently with him at Chelsea, and the fact that Mourinho is the coach at Manchester was the decisive factor in my choosing my new environment.

"Privately he's completely different from the way he is perceived by the general public.

"This is a man who possesses all human virtues. He's not at all cold or conceited, as he is presented in the media.

"He has created an excellent group of players with huge potential, and everything is there for us to achieve good results.

"I don't want to talk about the goals of the club, but when I mention Manchester United I think the ambitions are clear to everyone. We will do our best to achieve the results that previous generations had."