Manchester United have sacked manager Jose Mourinho, the club officially announced this morning.

The Portuguese boss has been in charge for two and a half years but during his third season in charge the Manchester club have slipped down to sixth in the table, 19 points off top of the table Liverpool.

The 3-1 defeat to the Merseysiders on Sunday proved to be the final straw for the club’s board who are now looking to put a caretaker manager in charge until the end of the season.

The leading contender for the position is Michael Carrick, who is 10/11 odds-on favourite with Sky Bet to take up the role. The former United midfielder was on Mourinho’s coaching staff and is the obvious candidate, along with academy manager Nicky Butt.

Zinedine Zidane, former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino and ex PSG head coach Laurent Blanc are all in the frame to take over in the summer.