José Mourinho has been fired from Man United following the club's defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, ending his stint as manager which began in 2016.

Once called 'the Chosen One' by fans who believed that Mourinho was destined to bring them similar success that they'd enjoyed under the leadership of Alex Ferguson, Mourinho's tenureship was a checkered one.

According to reports, the decision was ultimately made based on the club finally losing patience with the head coach because he was not adhering to the club’s core attacking values and who had overseen their worst start to a campaign for 28 years.

Another reason cited was Mourinho's transfer spend of around £400m on 11 players that, it is understood, the club insist were all the Portuguese’s choice.

On top of that, there has been general unease about Mourinho's style (which many consider boring), his lack of interest in youth development of United’s younger players, and the growing unhappiness from fans at the direction of the club under the Portuguese.

The club's official statement reads: “Manchester United announces that manager Jose Mourinho has left the club with immediate effect.

“The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and to wish him success in the future. A new caretaker manager will be appointed until the end of the current season, while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager.”

Mourinho had previously found success as a manager with FC Porto, Chelsea and Real Madrid. However, as previous managers David Moyes and Luis Van Gaal came to discover in recent years, the opportunity of leading Man United post-Alex Ferguson could very quickly become a poisoned chalice if the right results didn't emerge.

Man United will now appoint an interim manager until a new manager is found by the club. Media outlets have been suggesting that Michael Carrick, who played for United for 12 years, will take over the job for now.

Man United are currently 19 points behind the Premier League leaders, Liverpool.