Jose Mourinho won’t decide on Manchester United future until end of current three-year deal and claims Romelu Lukaku would now be worth £150m after Neymar deal
The Special One is enjoying life at Old Trafford but admits he is open to managing a club in France or Germany
JOSE MOURINHO admits he is not thinking of extending his deal despite Manchester United's rampant start to the season.
The Special One, speaking to The Times, penned a three-year contract when he took over from Louis van Gaal in May 2016.
Reports had suggested Mourinho was ready to commit his future to Old Trafford, but he insists he does not need a new deal to help him be successful.
Mourinho — who has an option for an extra year on his current agreement — said: “I don’t need a new contract to work to my limits.
"I don’t have a problem to arrive at the end of my contract and be free to decide what I want to do and the club free to decide what they want to do.
“In the past I always wanted to coach in different places. When I came to Chelsea in 2004 I never thought to stay for 20 years. Never.
"When I went to Italy I always had in mind I had to go to Spain.
"If in this moment now you ask me can I go to France or to Germany, I say, ‘Why not? Why not?’.
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"But I’m in a different moment in my career now.
"I always had Spain and Italy [as places where he hoped to manage], but England is my passion and at this moment I can say I would like to stay many years."
The former Porto boss seems to be loving life in the North West after getting his first season at Old Trafford under his belt.
And that came with victories in the Capital One Cup and Europa League - which earned United qualification to the Champions League.
England is my passion and at this moment I can say I would like to stay many years.
Jose Mourinho
And he claims that trying to take the club back to the levels it was at under Sir Alex Ferguson has been a challenge he has relished.
Mourinho beamed: “It’s about having the most challenging project that I can have.
“In this moment the United one is great because the club was and is living a new period — the post-Sir Alex period.
“Sir Alex, then David [Moyes], then Mr [Louis] Van Gaal and now me. Trying to find again success is a challenging period for the club and something that I’m enjoying.”
Mourinho also believes he saved Manchester United over £100MILLION on transfers by doing his business early.
United splashed out £146m in total with £75m on Romelu Lukaku, £40m on Nemanja Matic and £31m on Victor Lindelof this summer.
But Mourinho knows those prices could have been dramatically higher had they come after Neymar's record-shattering £198m Paris Saint-Germain switch from Barcelona on August 4.
Mourinho said: "I think we were very clever.
"We thought that something could happen that could change the market forever.
"Normally the last part of the market is less expensive, but this season, after Neymar, everything changed — and changed for the worse in terms of prices.
"I think Lukaku on August 31 would have been £150m. Matic would have been £60m or £70m. Neymar changed everything.
"If the biggest transfer in history had still been Pogba, I think Philippe Coutinho [the Liverpool playmaker] would now be in Barcelona at £101m."
Barca splashed out £138m to bring in Borussia Dortmund's Ousmane Dembele as Neymar's replacement.
The France winger cost Dortmund just £14m from Rennes last May but saw his price-tag skyrocket.
Mourinho added: "People look to the £200m figure now. Now the players of £20m became £40m, the players of £40m became £60m and everything changed.
"Lukaku and Matic, now, would have cost us £200m in total.
"But because we did it in the first part of the summer, it was much less.
"I think we did well in financial terms and well in preparation terms, getting them before the season started. That is not crucial but it is important."
