Manchester United have sacked Jose Mourinho as manager after two and a half years in charge at Old Trafford.

The Portuguese, 55, guided United to League Cup and Europa League titles.

But they are sixth in the Premier League, 19 points behind leaders Liverpool, who beat them 3-1 on Sunday.

“A caretaker-manager will be appointed until the end of the season while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager,” United said in a statement.

“The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and to wish him success in the future.”

The caretaker-manager to replace Mourinho, who took over from Louis van Gaal in May 2016, will not be assistant coach Michael Carrick or academy boss Nicky Butt.

The candidate will be drawn from outside the club, but will not be former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger. (BBC)