Manchester United have decided to pause contract talks with Jose Mourinho as they are growing concerned that he is not the man to win them the title, according to reports. Despite a fine campaign so far, in which they topped their Champions League group and occupied second place in the table for much of the season, they are nevertheless 13 points adrift of Leaders City. Only twice has a team won the title with a bigger margin, and Pep Guardiola now seems certain to win his first piece of silverware since taking charge of the club.
And, according to the Mirror, Mourinho could be one of the biggest victims of Guardiola’s success, with doubts growing among United board members that the Portuguese can overhaul the gap – this season or next. United’s hierarchy have been left ‘stunned’ by the ease with which Guardiola has turned the title race into a procession, though they do feel Mourinho’s approach has not helped.
The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ has a very defensive and pragmatic style, especially in matches against their big-six rivals, and board members are not happy with the approach. As such, they are questioning how sensible it would be to hand Mourinho a new contract, with tentative talks having taken place over a new deal.
Questions are now being asked at a high level whether the former Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid boss should be handed an extension on the three-year contract he signed in the summer of 2016. He has not stayed at any club he has managed for longer than three seasons.
United – who also have the option of triggering an extra 12 months on Mourinho’s current deal – were expected to hand the 54-year-old a fresh agreement that would also give him a significant rise on his £12million-a-year wages after a successful first year in Manchester.
United returned to the Champions League by winning the Europa League and they also lifted the League Cup and Community Shield. But the aim this time was to mount a sustained challenge for the Premier League for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 with United champions. Despite sitting in second place, that hasn’t happened. United have bankrolled Mourinho to the tune of £300million in the transfer market over the course of the last 18 months.
Mourinho’s current contract expires in the summer of 2019, and previous reports had claimed that he was requesting a new three-year deal, and significant pay rise, as reward for United’s strong campaign – though they were far closer to City back then. United have given Mourinho £300m to spend since he arrived, while he is already on £12m a year – and wants an additional £3m. But United’s hierarchy expected a bigger return on their investment and thought United would be much closer to City than they are, leading to doubts about whether Mourinho can get the better of Guardiola any time soon.
