Jose Mourinho releases statement on sacking after joining his family in London

Jose Mourinho has released an official statement, saying he is ‘proud’ of his time at Manchester United, and reaffirming his silence on the manner of his dismissal.

Mourinho is back in London after being sacked by United, his tumultuous two-and-a-half year spell at Old Trafford coming to an end on Tuesday.

He has returned to the family home having stayed in the Lowry Hotel during his time in Manchester, and said he will return to management after he took a stroll on Wednesday afternoon.  

Earlier, Mourinho was approached by Sky Sports News as he walked down the street, but he was initially not in the mood to discuss his future in management.

Asked about his next move, Mourinho said: “No, you know me. You know me. Let me walk. I have nothing to say. You know me, if you want to walk with me then let’s walk to Battersea. I have nothing to say.”

Mourinho later went into more detail, having apparently making a trip to Harrods, as he returned home carrying a shopping bag from the department store.

He said his time with United is “in the past” and that he did not want to dwell on his sacking, and instead look forward to a return to coaching.

Mourinho said: “Manchester United has a future without me and I have a future without them. Why should I be sharing more now? Even with the supporters, any of my feelings. It’s over. That’s the way I’ve always been.

“I’ve been critical of managers that speak about details about what’s happened and who is to blame. That’s not me. I just want to finish like it happened yesterday and I’d like to say it’s game over. I just hope you media respect this way for me to be.

“Until I get back to football I think I have my right to live my life like I do now. That’s what I want to do. Manchester United is past.”

Mourinho, however, was less than forthcoming when talking about what went wrong at Manchester United.

“You know me. I don’t change, what I did when I left Chelsea is the same as what I’m going to do now,” he said.

“I keep the good things and I don’t speak about anything that happened in the club. We could speak about so many good things, not as good, but that’s not me. It’s finished.”

He was dismissed by United on Tuesday morning, 48 hours after they lost 3-1 to rivals Liverpool to continue an abysmal start to the league season. United have just 26 points from 17 league games, their lowest ever tally at this stage of a Premier League season.