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Former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho signs with Manchester United

By Alex Butler
Former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand with manager Jose Mourinho. (Facebook/Rio Ferdinand)
Former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand with manager Jose Mourinho. (Facebook/Rio Ferdinand)

MANCHESTER, England, May 26 (UPI) -- The Red Devils are looking to blaze again, and hope Jose Mourinho holds the torch.

Mourinho, 53, signed a contract Thursday afternoon to become Manchester United's newest manager, according to reports.

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He spent his last stint as Chelsea boss from 2013 to 2015. Mourinho has also coached Real Madrid, Porto, Internationally, and at several squads. The Portuguese former soccer star also served on the staff of Barcelona as an assistant manager.

Along the way, Mourinho has picked up trophies in the Primera Division, Premier League, Serie A, Primeira Liga, FA Cup, Taca de Portugal, Copa del Rey, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and more.

Mourinho is 140-28-44 in 212 career Barclays Premier League matches. The new boss at Old Trafford is a three-time manager of the year.

Paris Saint-Germain superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been rumored to be following Mourinho to United. When asked if he and Mourinho had talked about a union, Ibrahimovic has just smiled at reporters.

"Congratulations to Jose on being announced manager of the biggest club in the world," former United star Rio Ferdinand said on Facebook. "This is Jose Mourinho's most exciting & most challenging job yet."

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"The first thing he needs to do is install 'winning mentality' back into the club. Get this ingredient back into the players but also the people that work inside the club day to day. Give them back that belief so it is breathing throughout the club again, which is so important. But doing the above in the Manchester United way is equally as important."

Ibrahimovic claims that he has made his choice about his destination and talked about his "great relationship" with the manager, according to ESPN FC.

"I think it's a great move," Ibrahimovic told ESPN FC. "You want action you bring Mourinho. I believe he is the man to bring them back to the top. Wherever he went, he won. He knows what he's doing. So if you want to win you bring Mourinho. I had a fantastic time with him when I was working with him ... If we will work again, I don't know. Let's see how things play out."

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"He will be desperate to silence the media who have been writing and saying negative things about him (he will have stored it all being the competitor he is) and will be as focused as ever," Ferdinand said on Facebook. "Mourinho's huge personality is made for this great club, it's what he has been waiting for. Wishing him all the best!"

United fired manager Louis van Gaal just three days ago.

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