Europa League draw 2016: Manchester United will face ex-striker Robin van Persie after being drawn against Fenerbahce, Feyenoord and Zorya Luhansk in Group A
MANCHESTER UNITED will face Robin van Persie's Fenerbahce in the opening round of the Europa League.
United will also face another of RVP's former clubs in Feyenoord and Ukraine's Zoraya Luhansk.
United's Euopa League Group A fixtures
Sept 15 - Feyenoord (a) - 6pm
Sept 29 - Zorya (h) - 8:05pm
Oct 20 - Fenerbahce (h) - 8:05pm
Nov 3 - Fenerbahce (a) - 6pm
Nov 24 - Feyenoord (h) - 8:05pm
Dec 8 - Zorya (a) - 6pm
Dutchman Van Persie, now 33, left a year ago after being ditched by former boss Louis van Gaal - and netted 16 times last season in the SuperLig.
The Europa League final will be played at the 50,000-capacity Friends Arena in Stockholm on May 24.
Mourinho won the competition in 2003 - when his Porto side beat Celtic in the final, a year before he went on to win the Champions League with the same team.
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United last played Fenerbahce on Wayne Rooney's debut in 2004 - the then 18-year-old went on to score a hat trick in a stunning performance.
The Red Devils faced Feyenoord in 1997-98 - when Alex Ferguson infamously told the Red Devils players not to swap shirts with their opponents after Andy Cole scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win in Holland.
Paul Bosvelt had put a nasty tackle in on Denis Irwin, prompting fears for the Irishman's career and Ferguson was furious.
United have never played Zorya Luhansk before. The Ukrainian club are currently playing in a temporary home following damage by a mortar attack after a military insurgency in 2014.
Mourinho told the press: "There are groups in the Champions League that are very similar, so it is good for that.
"We know it will be a difficult group, but I think that is a good thing.
"If you have teams without expression then even the fans may not enjoy nights at Old Trafford.
"It is good for the fans and for the players because it will help motivation.
"It is also good for a competition that doesn't have the same glamour as the Champions League.
"Having a team like Man United in the competition, playing matches against teams like Feyenoord and Fenerbahce - I do not have a vision about the Ukrainian team and their quality."