Why Man Utd now owe Jose Mourinho £24m after sacking

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Jose Mourinho is in line for a pay-off of up to £24 million after he was sacked today by Manchester United.

The Portuguese coach, 55, known as The Special One, left with “immediate effect” after a dismal run of results that leaves the club trailing in sixth place in the Premier League. His fate was sealed by a 3-1 defeat to arch-rivals and league leaders Liverpool on Sunday.

Mourinho was paid a salary of about £12 million and will claim he is legally entitled to his contract being paid out until its expiry date on June 30, 2020. There are also likely to be loyalty payments and other fees that may have to be honoured.

It is the third time the most famous club in English football has dismissed a manager since Sir Alex Ferguson — the most successful coach in Premier League history — retired in 2013.

The scale of the crisis at Old Trafford was underlined by the club’s decision not to rush into appointing another permanent manager.

A caretaker, who will lead the club to the end of season, is expected to be named in the next few days in time for Saturday’s match against Cardiff. Favourites for the permanent role include former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and former Chelsea coach Antonio Conte.

French midfielder Paul Pogba, 25, who has had a turbulent relationship with Mourinho, tweeted a picture of himself smirking with the comment “caption this”. He later deleted the post.

In a statement, the club said: “Manchester United announces that manager Jose Mourinho has left the club with immediate effect. The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and to wish him success in the future.

“A new caretaker manager will be appointed until the end of the current season, while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager.”

Mourinho was tight-lipped as he arrived at United’s training ground today ahead of the announcement and has not commented on his dismissal.

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