The rumours surrounding Jose Mourinho’s arrival at Manchester United have been doing the rounds since last year. In the latest development, it is being reported that the Portuguese has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Red Devils.
The Portuguese left Chelsea, the club he led to such great success, at the end of last year after a terrible run of results. However, the Champions League, Serie A, Premier League and La Liga winning manager has no dearth of available opportunities.
Mourinho has played his cards close to his chest, only recently declaring that he would return to coaching in the summer. Though he did not specify which club he meant to join, reports point in the direction of Manchester United, and the very latest of them claim he has even reached an agreement with the club.
According to Spanish publication El Pais, Manchester United and Jose Mourinho have signed a contract wherein the club reserve the right to his services in the coming seasons. However, if they do not make the deal permanent, then they will have to pay two incremental payments to the manager. The agreement states that if Manchester United do not permanently sign Mourinho by May 1, 2016, they will have to pay him 5 million pounds; and if they don’t do it by June 1, they have to shell out 10 million pounds.
The report also says that there is interest from Real Madrid in Mourinho’s future as well, which could have also prompted the agreement.
The management against the old guard
This is a unique agreement between manager and club, which seems to have been borne out of the conflicting sentiments of two powerful factions at Old Trafford. It is believed that the management is keen to have a manager of Mourinho’s track record and ability at the club, but powerful people with strong links to the club like Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton are against the Portuguese taking over.
Jose Mourinho is very keen to take over at Manchester United, and has expressed his admiration for the club several times in the past. But he is not known as a manager who keeps in line with the traditions at Old Trafford, particularly that of bringing up young players and playing an attractive, attacking style of football.
