Jose Mourinho wants to manage Manchester United for a second time

Jose Mourinho would love to manage Manchester United again but the club does not want to reappoint the Portuguese.

Mourinho has told confidants he would "walk" to Manchester to manage United for a second time, having been sacked by the club in December 2018.

The two-time Champions League winner is a friend of United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe but Mourinho is not expecting an approach from his former club.

Incumbent United manager Erik ten Hag presided over a Premier League-era record 13th loss of the season in the 4-0 thrashing by Crystal Palace on Monday night.

United are eighth in the Premier League table and could finish outside the top seven for the first time since 1990. The 18 defeats United have suffered this term is their most in a season since 1977-78.

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Although United face Manchester City in the FA Cup final on May 25, Ten Hag's position is insecure amid a dreadful campaign in which United were eliminated from European competitions altogether before Christmas and their League Cup defence ended at the second hurdle.

United have assessed possible replacements for the Dutchman, who has not received definitive backing from Ratcliffe since he completed his 27.7% stakeholding in February.

Mourinho replaced Louis van Gaal in May 2016 and guided United to League Cup and Europa League triumphs in his first season. United rose to second in the Premier League table and reached the FA Cup final in Mourinho's second season but he was then denied backing in the 2018 summer transfer window.

The former Chelsea manager's most recent job was at Roma, whom he guided to Europa Conference League glory in 2022. Roma reached the Europa League final last season but were beaten by Sevilla in a penalty shootout.