Jose Mourinho: Manchester United sack manager
Manchester United have sacked Jose Mourinho as manager after two and a half years in charge.
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But United are sixth in the Premier League, 19 points behind leaders Liverpool, who beat them 3-1 on Sunday.
"A caretaker-manager will be appointed until the end of the season while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager," United said in a statement on Tuesday morning.
"The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and to wish him success in the future."
A familiar conclusion to a rocky season
United's haul of 26 points after their first 17 Premier League games, is their worst tally in the top flight at this stage since 1990-91.
They are 11 points off the top four and closer to the relegation zone than the top of the table.
Mourinho's sacking comes after a fall-out with £89m record signing Paul Pogba, who was an unused substitute for the defeat at Anfield on Sunday.
Following a 1-1 draw with Wolves, midfielder Pogba said he wanted United to be able to "attack, attack, attack" at home, which led Mourinho to say the France midfielder would no longer be the club's "second captain".
In October, there were reports that Mourinho might be sacked prior to the home game against Newcastle, but after the team trailed 2-0, they turned it around to win 3-2 and seemingly
His eventual dismissal continues his run of never completing four consecutive seasons in charge of a club.
Only once has he made it into a fourth campaign, but he left Chelsea on 17 December 2015 during his second spell at Stamford Bridge.
credit: BBC