Defeat to Liverpool ultimately cost Jose Mourinho his job but the writing had been on the wall for many months.
Mourinho’s last match in charge of Manchester United saw him endure a 3-1 defeat to Jurgen Klopp’s Reds on Sunday afternoon and while several fans pointed out the fact that Mourinho parted ways with Chelsea on 17 December 2015, United waited until 18 December this year to announce that the 55-year-old’s spell in charge at Old Trafford had come to an end.
Reports claim that the club intends to appoint a caretaker manager until the end of the season before bringing in a permanent successor to Mourinho, who had just signed a contract extension in January.
Mourinho leaves the Red Devils in sixth place in the Premier League table, 19 points behind table-topping Liverpool, and Klopp was all class when he was asked to comment on his rival’s departure.
“He’s a very competitive guy. Very ambitious. Really competitive. He has all my respect,” Klopp said, via the Liverpool Echo.
“He’s unbelievably successful and I can imagine the last few months were not a joy for nobody, especially not him.
“It’s not nice when you have to face these questions every day but nobody can take away all the things he has won.
“I wish he has that in his mind and not other things that have happened in the last few months. He is an outstanding manager.”
