SINGAPORE — Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has dismissed recent British media reports that he has reached a deal to manage English Premier League giants Manchester United, saying that he has “no job” at the moment and is enjoying his time away from football.

During a visit to NorthLight School on Wednesday (Feb 24) with super agent Jorge Mendes and Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim, Mourinho, who is here for a week to tend to his commercial affairs, said there is nothing concrete about him returning to the Premier League this summer. 

“That is a million-dollar question … It is not concrete,” said the 53-year-old, who was sacked by reigning champions Chelsea last December after the Blues’ poor run of results dropped them to the bottom half of the table.

“I miss football, and if I have to return tomorrow, I would. But I always feel it is better to be calm and wait for the right moment, and the right move. 

“I think starting the next season with a new club and a new project is probably the best thing for me.” 

When asked about whether he had signed a three-year deal with United to replace current manager Louis van Gaal, he quipped: “I’ve read so many different things. One day it says, yes, I am going to United and it is a done deal, and (then) another day, it is no. The next day, it says I am going to China, and then Italy, and then Milan, and maybe I am going back to Inter (Milan). 

“When I am here now, people are saying I am going to the Singapore national team. Every day, new things are coming, but the reality is I have no job, and I am happy.” 

Mourinho, who said that he is enjoying the time off with his family and friends, also described his current unemployment situation as strange. “It is quite a funny career, because I am still the English champion and I have no job now,” he said to laughter from close to 100 NorthLight students during a question-and-answer session. 

“I was champion in May 2015 and now, in February 2016, I was sacked. In such a short period of time I achieved so much and yet I lost my job. (But) that’s the way football is and, to me, Chelsea is no more, finished, and I look forward to the future with more enthusiasm, and not the past.”

Mourinho’s visit to NorthLight on Wednesday — a school for students with difficulties handling the mainstream curriculum — was in support of the Singapore Olympic Foundation-Peter Lim Scholarship. 

“The aim is to promote the scholarship, and also to inspire the students,” said a spokesperson for the scholarship programme. “Mr Lim believes many children won’t have the chance to meet big stars, so he wants to bring the stars to them. He feels it is important for kids to look up to sports stars who have done well in their career. He feels sportsmen have qualities such as discipline, and a hunger for success that can inspire young students.”