Jose Mourinho accuses media of making up Manchester United contract talks and PSG move speculation

Jose Mourinho has rejected claims that he is on the verge of signing a five-year contract extension at Manchester United and that he is looking to leave the club to join Paris Saint-Germain in the near future, and instead blamed the media for kicking up a storm surrounding his future at Old Trafford.

With United turning their attentions back towards the Champions League ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Benfica, Mourinho’s contract situation has dominated the headlines following quotes that the Portuguese manager gave at the weekend about the “special” circumstances unfolding in Paris.

Mourinho also confirmed that he will not end his managerial career at Old Trafford, and his remarks triggered a wave of reports that the Portuguese was eyeing a move to PSG if United held out on contract talks.

But in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Mourinho accused the media of fabricating both stories, and insisted that he remains committed to his current contract at United with talks about any renewal yet to begin.

“I think you English media have the answer for that because on one day it says I am going to sign a five year contract worth £1bn per season and then the next day you say that I am leaving and going to PSG – I think that is the answer,” Mourinho said.

“The answer is that nothing is happening; I am not signing a new five year contract and I am not leaving for PSG.

“I am at Man United and that is it. I have a contract I don't think there is an answer for that.”

Mourinho will hope that his squad will put any off-field distraction behind them and take a major step towards qualification for the last-16. A victory against Benfica at the Estadio da Luz on Wednesday night will give United nine points from nine and keep them top of Group A, in which they currently lead FC Basel and CSKA Moscow by three points.

It would also maintain United’s unbeaten streak that stretches back to the curtain-raising European Super Cup lose to Real Madrid at the start of August, with a run of 11 matches without defeat – combined to last season’s achievements of winning the Europa League, EFL Cup and a Champions League return, going a long way to triggering talk that the club will look to tie down Mourinho’s long-term future.

“I have my contract which ends in June 2019. We are in October 2017 so I don’t know what to say,” Mourinho added.

Signing a five-year contract would keep Mourinho committed to United until the end of the 2021/2022 season and would represent his longest reign at any club since beginning his managerial career in 2000, but he does not expect to emulate Sir Alex Ferguson’s incredible achievement of lasting 27 years at United, simply as he is very unlikely to get the chance to.

“I told people, and it is true, that I am not going to end my career at United,” he added. “How is it possible in modern football that any manager lasts 15/20 years in the same club? [Arsene] Wenger is the last one.”