Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho sacked by Manchester United after two and a half seasons at the helm. In this picture, Mourinho goes to shake hands with Liverpool's German manager Jurgen Klopp after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on December 16, 2018. PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images

Manchester United sacked manager Jose Mourinho on Tuesday following two and a half years in charge, the club confirmed via a statement. The dismissal came on the back of the Red Devils’ loss to Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.

“Manchester United announces that manager Jose Mourinho has left the club with immediate effect,” the Premier League club said Tuesday. “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.”

The Portuguese manager, who has previously managed Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan among others is the fourth manager to be dismissed since Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012-13 season.

Mourinho took over the reins from Dutchman Louis van Gaal, who had in turn taken over from Ryan Giggs, who was the interim manager after David Moyes was sacked midway through his first season in charge of United.

The Portuguese delivered three trophies in his first season with the Red Devils taking them to victory in the Europa League, the Community Shield and the League Cup, but they have since struggled. The current campaign has been one of their worst in recent history as they currently lie in sixth place – 19 points behind leaders and arch rivals Liverpool.

In a strange coincidence, Mourinho was fired from his post with Chelsea almost three years to the day and half way into his third season in his second stint with the Blues.

The club are yet to confirm, who will take over from Mourinho – but many are touting Michael Carrick, currently among the coaching staff to take over interim duties until the end of the season.

Zinedine Zidane has been touted as a potential long-term replacement on numerous occasions, while it is no secret that the United hierarchy are big admirers of Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino.

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