Reports this morning are claiming that Jose Mourinho has signed a pre-contract agreement with Manchester United to replace Louis Van Gaal.
El Pais has published an article which indicates that, having signed this deal, the Old Trafford club would have to pay Mourinho millions of pounds if he is not appointed the manager ahead of next season. A source has said that this amount will apparently accumulate, the longer they postpone in finalising the agreement.
The paper cites sources close to Gestifute, the business run by Jose Mourinho's agent Jorge Mendes, which claim that a deal is already in place for Mourinho to replace Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford.
The report claims that Florentino Perez had hoped to bring the Portuguese back to Real Madrid and had regretted that the two had parted ways back in 2013, and was looking at how to possibly bring him in during the coming weeks and months.
The deal signed between Mourinho and Manchester United is, apparently, a standard document that guarantees him compensation if Manchester United should find another manager that they deem more suitable for the job, but there are some key dates in the process that the paper claims are written into the agreement.
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A source is quoted to have said that:
''If United do not sign the final contract [with Mourinho] before May 1st, they must pay £5m. If by June 1st he’s still not signed, they shall pay another £10m. May is the key, because it’s the month in which the vast majority of the signings of players are closed and the plans formed.''
Current United boss Louis Van Gaal has been on unsteady ground for the majority of this season with Jose Mourinho being repeatedly touted as his usurper. And after crashing out of the Europa League during the week at the hands of Liverpool, speculation is mounting against him again.
The publication further states that the deal was agreed in February between the two parties, but that the reason for a pre-contract rather than a formal agreement is as a result of the hesitance on the part of several of the Manchester United hierarchy that Mourinho might not be the right man for the job.
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Mourinho is also believed to be set against returning to Real Madrid if he can avoid it, as his relationship with the press in the country is particularly poor, nor does he want to be in charge of a dressing room where figures such as Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcelo and Pepe still wield a lot of power given he has issues with all of them.
Furthermore, they report that he sees the Spanish league as the most difficult and most dangerous, given the sophistication of the managers there.
Via El País
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