Jose Mourinho Hints at Surprising Man Utd Plans Amid Real Madrid Speculation
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has stated his desire to remain with the club till the end of his current contract and beyond after an eventful few weeks that has been dominated by speculation of a potential sacking and now even bizarre gossip of a return to Real Madrid.
Questioned about his future and the Real stories ahead of United's Champions League group game with Juventus this week, Mourinho made his position very clear.
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"I'm happy here. I'm happy to see my contract out to the very last day of that contract and I would like to stay after my contract ends [in 2020]," he said, via ManUtd.com.
"All I'm thinking about is Manchester United," the 55-year-old added.
Mourinho chose to ignore questioning about Real, Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be making only his second appearance at Old Trafford since leaving United in 2009, and Paul Pogba, who is due to face former club Juve for the first time since returning to Manchester in 2016.
Instead, Mourinho summarised the size of United's task as he put forward the Bianconeri as serious contenders to lift the Champions League trophy in Madrid at the end of the season.
"Juventus have a lot to offer. They have an extra year's experience of course with the same coach. For the last five years or so they've been real contenders to win the title," he said.
"They've been to a couple of finals, they've won [seven] Scudetti on the trot and they have a really special player [Ronaldo], who makes a real difference as well. As far as I'm concerned, Juventus are more than just a contender this season to win the Champions League."
Anthony Martial is set to keep his starting place after three goals in his last two games, with Mourinho delighted with what he saw from the Frenchman against Chelsea on Saturday.
"Martial is like the team. The team is playing fine, Martial is playing fine," the boss explained.
"It's easier for an individual to play well when the team is playing well, and vice versa. Anthony was involved in two matches where the team scored five goals, where the team played really well and he played very well too," he added.
Alexis Sanchez and Antonio Valencia are among seven United players missing, the latter Mourinho revealed as a result of not training for 10 days after undergoing 'complicated surgery' on his mouth.
