Jose Mourinho Issues Statement, Says He Was 'Proud' to Manage Manchester United

Former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has said he was "immensely proud" to have managed the club in a statement a day on from his Old Trafford axe.

Following the Red Devils' worst-ever start to a Premier League season, United decided the time was right for a change on Tuesday.

Mourinho issued the following bulletin on Wednesday:

United have acted quickly to secure a successor, with the club's former forward Ole Gunnar Solskjaer taking charge until the end of the season, per their official website. The club said in their statement on Tuesday they would be looking for a long-term appointment come the end of 2018-19.

It's the only thing the 55-year-old has said in public since his sacking aside from this exchange with Sky Sports News:

The decision to let Mourinho go brought an end to a miserable recent spell for United, which featured poor results and a dreary style of football.

In his first season at the club, the Portuguese further cemented his reputation as a serial trophy winner by bringing the League Cup and the UEFA Europa League to Old Trafford. In the 2017-18 term, United were also the closest challengers in the Premier League to runaway winners Manchester City.

However, there's been no sense of the Red Devils closing that gap to City or to rivals Liverpool this campaign. The latter beat United handsomely on Sunday, 3-1, and are now top of the table.

Per Squawka News, Mourinho's spell at United followed a similar trend to his second stint at Chelsea, both of which came to an end during the third year in charge:

Miguel Delaney of The Independent suggested United made the wrong decision appointing him in the first place on the basis of his previous job:

United have entrusted a lot of faith in Solskjaer to steady the ship this season, especially with so much still to play for in 2018-19.

Their chances of finishing in the top four are slim, with United currently trailing fourth-place Chelsea by a massive 11 points. However, they managed to move through the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, albeit with a difficult tie with Paris Saint-Germain to come in the round of 16, while the FA Cup will still be up for grabs.

Solskjaer does have some experience in the Premier League with Saturday's opponents Cardiff City, although he was only able to muster nine wins from 30 games in his time at the club.

Even so, after weeks of drab football, negativity from the manager and players underperforming, plenty of United supporters will relish the idea of a club legend coming in and trying something new from the sidelines.