Jose Mourinho said on Wednesday that he has a “future without Manchester United”, speaking for the first time since he was sacked by the Premier League club.
The Old Trafford hierarchy sacked Mourinho in the aftermath of Sunday’s 1-3 defeat at Anfield that left the 20-time champions an embarrassing 19 points behind league leaders Liverpool after just 17 matches.
But the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan boss refused to go into details about his departure.
“I don’t change. And what I did when I left Chelsea, for example, is the same as that I’m going to do now,” Mourinho told Sky Sports News. “I keep the good things and I don’t speak about anything that happened in the club. We could speak about so many good things. It's finished” he added.
“Manchester United has a future without me and I have a future without Manchester United, so why should I now be sharing with you or even with the supporters, any of my feelings?
“It’s over. That’s me and that’s the way I’ve always been and I was always very critical of managers that leave clubs and then they come out and they speak about details of what happened and who is to blame for this kind of situation -- that's not me.
“I just want to finish, it happened yesterday and I'd like to say that the game’s over. And I just hope that you, the media, respect this.
“Until I get back to football, I think I have the right to live my normal life, like I'm going to do now. I go for my little shopping, I go for my little walk and that's what I want to do. Manchester United is my past.”
Mourinho later added in a statement issued to British media that he had the “deepest respect for his former colleagues after two and a half years in charge of United.
“I have been immensely proud to wear the badge of Manchester United since the first day I arrived, and I believe all United supporters recognise this,” he said.
“I know that you're all aware of my professional principles. Each time a chapter is closed I show my deepest respect and I don't make any comments about my former colleagues. I have worked with some wonderful people and I believe that some will be my friends for life.”
United, meanwhile, have turned to former striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to steady the ship until the end of the season, confirming the Norwegian as caretaker manager in the wake of Mourinho's sacking.
Solskjaer, who leaves his role as manager of Norwegian club Molde, will be joined by Mike Phelan as assistant manager. The appointment of Solskjaer to inject some life into United in some ways mirrors his playing career at the club where he scored 126 goals between 1996-2007, often as an impact sub.
His most memorable contribution came in the 1999 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich when he netted a stoppage-time winner.
“Manchester United is in my heart and it's brilliant to be coming back in this role,” the 45-year-old former Cardiff City manager, said in a statement. “I’m really looking forward to working with the very talented squad we have, the staff and everyone at the club.”
Coincidentally Solskjaer’s first task will be to try and guide United to a much-needed three points away at Cardiff — the club who were relegated from the top flight on his watch in 2014 — on Saturday.
