Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is willing to take the managerial job at Manchester United, should they decide to show the exit door to their current boss Louis van Gaal.
The Portuguese tactician was sacked by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich this month as the Blues struggled in the league under his guidance, losing nine out of the 16 league matches. He is without a job and has earlier expressed his desire to continue in the Premier League.
Duncan Castles of The Sunday Times claims Real Madrid president Florentimo Pérez is keen on bringing Mourinho back to the Spanish capital. He is ready to relieve Rafael Benitez from his duties at the Santiago Bernabéu and replace him with the 52-year-old boss, if he takes the job.
However, the sacked Chelsea manager is closely monitoring the situation at Old Trafford and willing to replace Van Gaal, should the latter be sacked. The Red Devils suffered their fourth straight defeat at the hands of Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Boxing Day and are without a win in the last seven matches played in all competitions.
The La Liga giants failed to back him in several areas, which reportedly led to his exit from the club before he decided to leave Real and returned to Chelsea in the summer of 2013. The Sunday Times claims a move to United will be a fresh start for Mourinho, who will be receiving the backing of United chief Ed Woodward.
Following the defeat to Norwich City at Old Trafford a week ago, the Dutchman admitted he was worried about his job. Van Gaal has now suggested that he could step down from his managerial role at United after his side’s latest loss to the Potters.
“It is not always the club that has to fire or sack me,” Van Gaal explained. “Sometimes I do that by myself, but I am the one who wants to speak first with the board of Manchester United and my members of staff and my players, not with you.”
Should Van Gaal decide to quit or be fired if United lose to Chelsea on Monday evening, Mourinho could pounce on the opportunity to take the vacant role at the club.
Ryan Giggs, who is the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager’s assistant is also in the frame for the job. With United dropping out of the top four, the club’s board will be aware of the risk of handing the job to the Welshman, who has no firsthand experience of managing any teams, barring an interim position which he took until the end of the 2013/14 season after David Moyes was relieved from his duties at United.
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