After being continually linked with a move to Manchester United, former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has said he does not have any deal with the Red Devils at the moment.
Manchester United have been heavily criticised for their style of football recently, and are said to be displeased with the progress of the team under current manager Louis van Gaal. Reports from England mainly suggest that Van Gaal will be sacked, with Jose Mourinho appointed as the manager next season.
However, the Portuguese has denied all rumours regarding his move to Manchester, saying that he does not have any contract offers from the club at the moment.
“[Van Gaal] is my friend, I worked with him for a few years. I am always linked with jobs and in the summer I will have a job, but in this moment I can promise you I do not have a contract with any club,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.
“I am not in a position to turn [jobs] down, I am in a position to analyse. I am in a position to be open to any club or national team,” said Mourinho. “I would prefer [to be in England]. I love the country, I love the football here, my family is very stable and happy. If possible yes, it would be my first choice.”
The ‘Mou-chester’ saga
While there is a new report about the Mourinho story every day, the saga of whether or not Manchester United will make the Portuguese their manager has been going on for quite a long time now.
There have been even reports from Spain, with reputed journalist Guillem Balague claiming that those close to Mourinho believe that the deal is “done with United”.
On Mou. His people say all done with United. Most football people think all done too. MUFC say no decision made. Lvg thinks he’s staying 1/2
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) April 6, 2016
However, after Louis van Gaal said that he is likely to stay at the Old Trafford till the end of the next season (when his contract ends, more reports surfaced, with the English media claiming that Mourinho wanted written reassurances from the club that he will be appointed as their manager next season.
In yet another report, the media claimed that Mourinho is house hunting in Manchester having had reassurances from the club he will be appointed as replacement for Van Gaal.
However, none of these reports actually have any particular confirmation from either side, and we can only really go by what Mourinho himself has said.