Mourinho: I belong in top-level football

The Portuguese coach was fired by the Red Devils in December following lacklustre start to the season and issues between him and several players.

Mourinho, who turns 56 next week, believes in his managerial skills and that he still has much to offer. "I want to coach," he told BBC Sport.

"I belong to top-level football and [that] is where I am going to be. I am too young, I am in football for a long, long time but I will be 56 in a couple of weeks and am really too young."

Widely publicised was the rift between Mourinho and United captain Paul Pogba, which he side-stepped blame for.

"Everything good I did with players is not news anymore," he continued.

"News is when you have problems. In modern football there is a problem between the coach and the player.

"We are not in a time any more where the coach, by himself, is powerful enough to cope and to have a relationship of education and sometimes confrontation with players who are not the best professionals."