Man Utd manager latest: Jose Mourinho set to return to football as the 'Humble One'

The self-styled 'Special One', Mourinho has been out of work after he was sacked at Stamford Bridge for the second time in December following a dire start to their defence of the Premier League title.

The Portuguese has been heavily linked with the Manchester United job, with reports that communication between the two parties has already begun, despite Louis van Gaal insisting he will not give the job up.

Mourinho, who has also managed Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, has always been sought after and admits he does not like being out of the game.

He has hinted at a job in England after stating his family home will remain in London.

"I stopped when I left Chelsea in 2007, for a few months, and now is the second time I stop in 15 or 16 years, so it is not a drama. But for sure, I will be back soon," he said in an interview published in the Mail on Sunday where he was promoting Jaguar's new SUV. He also spoke to Sky Sports about his desire and willingess to relocate.

"At this moment I don't know where football will take me, because in football you never know. But as a family, our home will be in London.

"As a professional, I'm ready to move, especially because football on London for me in terms of clubs, I need to move.

"I experimented with English, Italian and Spanish football, three of the top football sides in the world (Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid). I always say I need competition - I need competition every week.

"No, I am not enjoying it (not working). I can have my family, I can have my friends, I can have my quiet life, which I also like, and I can have my football. I can have everything together and I don't need to give up on one of them.

"To be fully happy I need everything, so I go back to football. I think it's my natural habitat. I have worked since I can remember, and as a manager since 2000."

Advertising sports cars in Sweden is a curious way to get your point across, but there is little doubt about Mourinho's desire to return to football's fast lane. If Jose cannot eat humble pie after the goings on at Chelsea, and how relations with the club quickly and astonishingly soured there, he is not going to be much use to United. It could be argued that he would be useless to the Old Trafford dressing room unless he rediscovers the bond between manager and players that worked so well for him at Porto, Inter Milan and his early years at Chelsea and Real Madrid. If the concept of losing a dressing room is actually possible then Mourinho lost his at Stamford Bridge on his way to losing the plot and also his job only seven months are leading Chelsea to their first national title since 2010. There is a reason why Chelsea will host United on Sunday languishing 13th in the table on 29 points from 24 matches. Mourinho must shoulder most of the blame for the demise.

If United are judging Mourinho by what went on at Chelsea, they wouldn't touch him with a barge pole, but there is a certain appeal about Mourinho's overall body of work and what they perceive he can achieve confronting Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Mourinho's comments about being humble and intimating that he is not perfect sound curiously like another pitch for the United job. Or maybe not, but United need Mourinho willing to learn from his mistakes. Not one who traitionally becomes a bigger story than the club he is working for.