Zidane call convinces Mourinho that United stay is coming to an end

Football transfers are mostly about players, but occasionally, the story of moving managers will dominate the headline. Such happens when big managers like Arsene Wenger and Sir. Alex Ferguson or huge clubs like PSG, Real Madrid and Barcelona are involved.

The manager story that has dominated the second half of 2018 is that of Jose Mourino and Manchester United. After Arsene Wenger’s replacement at Arsenal in the summer following a 20-year stint at the helm, focus turned to United where Mourinho was entering his third season in charge.

The 2017-18 season was already less than convincing, and many analysts predicted the manager to suffer the now so much talked about third-season-burn-out. By October, the prediction appeared to be coming true as united sat 10th on the log. Their displays were nothing to write home about either.

Speculation was rife that United were considering sacking Mourinho and replacing him with former Real Madrid gaffer Zinedine Zidane. The rumour caught so much fire that Zidane decided to call Mourinho and clear the air.

Zidane, who worked with Mourinho at Real, did not want the Portuguese to think that he was involved in behind-the-scenes dealings that would undermine him (Mourinho). So, he called to inform Mourinho that yes, his (Zidane’s) representatives had inquired whether he would be interested in managing United but no, there was no formal talk going on.

You’d think that call would calm Mou’s nerves, but no. In the opposite, it left him convinced that the United top hierarchy was already making plans to relieve him of his job. According to the special one, Zidane’s agents reaching out to the Frenchman only meant that United’s boardroom had made contact to the agents.

Not a poor inference there, is it? If Mourinho were to leave United, which club would he probably take on in his next assignment?