Jose Mourinho angered Manchester United officials when he publicly clashed with Chelsea staff in October. Photo / Getty
Jose Mourinho angered Manchester United officials when he publicly clashed with Chelsea staff in October. Photo / Getty
Manchester United's top brass have been left fuming after Jose Mourinho spent a whopping $704 million on buying talent in his little over two years in charge - yet has left the club with very little to show for it.
The 55-year-old Portuguese was sacked on Tuesday, halfway through his third season at Old Trafford, after guiding United to their worst start to a Premier League season in almost three decades.
Mourinho signed a new contract last January, forcing the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to fork out another $42 million to get rid of the outspoken manager.
The payoff, plus the fact that Mourinho's big spending had failed to deliver any significant silverware, has left club officials seething, according to The Sun.
Jose Mourinho leaves the Manchester United training ground for the last time. Photo / Getty
He spent $156 million on French superstar Paul Pogba, $132 million on Romelu Lukaku, $82 million on Fred, $70 million on Nemanja Matic, $54 million on Victor Lindelof, $52 million on Eric Bailly, $46 million on Henrikh Mkhitaryan and $33 million on Diogo Dalot.
United won the Europa League and League Cup in Mourinho's first season in charge, after replacing Dutchman Louis van Gaal in 2016.
His fractured relationship with Pogba also made headlines across the globe, with the World Cup-winning midfielder taking a swipe at Mourinho shortly after news broke of his departure.
Pogba later deleted the post from his Instagram account.
United are sixth on the Premier League table, 19 points behind leaders Liverpool and have made their worst start to the competition in 28 years.
Jose Mourinho received a handsome payout after getting sacked as Manchester United manager. Photo / Getty
Mourinho was given his marching orders 48 hours after United's 3-1 thrashing by the Reds at Anfield.
According to earlier reports, Mourinho left club officials angered in February due to his attire at a memorial for the Munich Air disaster.
The service commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster - the darkest moment in the club's history when the plane carrying the side back from a European Cup match in Belgrade crashed, killing eight players and three staff.
Mourinho turned up to the memorial in a black hoodie under his club suit and instead of dress shoes wore sneakers. Players wore suit and ties as did officials and other coaching staff at the club.
According to the Times, Mourinho's choice of clothes angered senior United figures who were 'appalled' by the casual clothing. Despite that 'nobody had the gumption' to tell him to change.
Mourinho also reportedly embarrassed United officials when he got into a scuffle with members of Chelsea's backroom staff in October.
United last night confirmed that former striker and Norway international Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will take charge of the club until the end of the season.
