Manchester United will have to reportedly pay outgoing manager Jose Mourinho at least £18 million in compensation.
United announced on Tuesday morning that Mourinho had left the club less than a year after signing a new contract with the club in January.
“Manchester United announces that manager Jose Mourinho has left the club with immediate effect,” a statement read.
“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.”
Mourinho extended his contract until 2020 with an added clause for an option of a further year which would keep him at Old Trafford until 2021.
According to United beat reporter Duncan Castles, United were looking at a compensation bill of £24million which would be reduced by 25% to £18million if the club failed to qualify for the Champions League next season.
United fell 19 points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday following their 3-1 loss to the Reds at Anfield with Mourinho admitting that the best the club could hope for would be a fourth placed finish in the Premier League.
“[Can we] win the title? Of course not. But we can still finish fourth,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.
“It’s not easy but for sure we are going to finish in the top six.”
Mourinho spent less than three seasons at United and won the League Cup, the FA Cup and the Europa League during his tenure with the club.
He leaves United with the second best win percentage in the club’s history with a 58.33 win percentage, trailing only Alex Ferguson who won 59.67% of his games in 27 years at Old Trafford.
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