Mourinho set to fulfil Manchester United dream

Jose Mourinho was on the verge of fulfilling his dream of managing Manchester United on Tuesday after Louis van Gaal’s troubled two-year reign came to a bitter end.

The path was clear for the former Chelsea manager to be confirmed as the new United boss after van Gaal was sacked on Monday — the price of failing to get one of the world’s biggest clubs into the Champions League.

Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes was reported by British media to be in negotiations to tie up a deal.

It sets the stage for one of the sport’s most intriguing characters to at last manage the Red Devils after a glittering career that so far features 21 major trophies, including three EPL crowns and two Champions League titles.

Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea in December after a miserable campaign marred by rifts with the club’s star players that eventually became intolerable to owner Roman Abramovich as the team, champions just months earlier, languished near the relegation zone.

Now the colourful and controversial 53-year-old will hope to restore his reputation by bringing back the sparkle to United.

A casually-dressed Mourinho declined to answer reporters’ questions as he left his London home and got into a car on Tuesday morning.

The BBC said the Portuguese manager’s appointment was unlikely to be finalised on Tuesday but was expected to be completed within the week.

For his part, van Gaal said he was “very disappointed” to be sacked just 48 hours after leading United to victory in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The Glazer family didn’t let United’s first piece of silverware since the 2013 retirement of legendary boss Alex Ferguson stop them from wielding the axe on 64-year-old van Gaal.

The Dutchman cleared out his office at United’s Carrington training ground on Monday after talks over a settlement for the final year of his three-year contract — worth a reported £6.4 million per year.

Mourinho worked under van Gaal at Barcelona in the late 1990s.