‘Mou agrees to become Man U manager’
Special One offered 3-yr deal worth $14mln per season
LONDON, May 26, (AFP): Jose Mourinho has agreed to become the new manager of Manchester United, according to British media reports on Thursday.
Mourinho has been in negotiations with United since Louis van Gaal’s sacking on Monday and it is understood an agreement is now in place for the former Chelsea manager to take charge at Old Trafford.
The 53-year-old is reportedly yet to sign a contract, but official confirmation from United is expected by Friday after the deal was delayed due to discussions over Mourinho’s image rights.
Mourinho is said to have been offered a three-year contract that will pay him £10 million ($14 million, 13 million euros) per season, which is double the salary earned by Van Gaal during his troubled two-year reign.
It was also reported Mourinho, who
Jose Mourinho arrives back at his home in central London on May 26. The prospect of Jose Mourinho becoming Manchester United’s next boss has unleashed hopes across Europe of a mega-spending spree
by the English giants to get back into the elite. (AFP)
was sacked by Chelsea in December, is set to be given bonuses that will pay £5 million and £2.5 million respectively if he leads United to the Champions League or Premier League title.
It emerged Chelsea had owned Mourinho’s name as a trademark since 2005 and could demand a six-figure sum from United before his new club were able to use it to sell merchandise such as toiletries, technology, clothing and jewellery.
There was also a potential conflict between Mourinho’s personal deals and United’s own sponsors because the Portuguese coach has contracts with Jaguar and Hublot Watches, while United’s shirts sponsors are Chevrolet and they also have an arrangement with watchmaker Bulova.
But talks between Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes and United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward are believed to have resolved those problems and look to have paved the way for the controversial and charismatic boss to fulfil his long-held dream of managing the Manchester giants.
Mourinho was seen strolling back to his town house in the upmarket London district of Belgravia wearing a smart he won his first Champions League title with Porto in 2004.
It was also the day United won the treble under Alex Ferguson in 1999 and the day the club’s legendary former manager Matt Busby was born in 1909.
As Arsene Wenger and Rafael Benitez will testify, Jose Mourinho has had more than his fair share of public confrontations with opposing managers during his career.
None of them, though, have been as bitter or keenly-felt as Portuguese Mourinho’s long-running rivalry with Spaniard Pep Guardiola. Manchester, the most passionate of football cities, is about to get very lively indeed.
As United’s new manager, Mourinho will have his City counterpart Guardiola as a football neighbour next season.
It is perhaps just as well that the clubs no longer have adjoining training grounds at Carrington, with City having moved across Manchester to a purpose-built base near the Etihad Stadium two years ago. Mourinho and Guardiola will not be on each other’s doorsteps, but they will be close enough.
“The grudge match arrives in Manchester” was the headline in Madridbased newspaper Marca on Monday, although it will arrive first in Beijing, where City and United will meet in an International Champions Cup pre-season game on July 25.
The grudge dates back to 2008, when Mourinho was overlooked for the Barcelona manager’s job in favour of the inexperienced Guardiola, who was promoted from coaching the club’s B team.
The gamble paid off for Barcelona, who won the treble of Champions League, La Liga and Copa Del Rey the following season, making Guardiola’s name as a coach.
Mourinho went instead to Inter Milan and, en route to winning the 2010 Champions League title, took great delight in defeating Guardiola’s team in the semi-finals, to the extent that he was involved in a confrontation with Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes at full-time.