Jose Mourinho will make Manchester United champions again, says former Chelsea star Ricardo Carvalho

            

Ricardo Carvalho has laid down the gauntlet for Pep Guardiola by insisting Jose Mourinho will take the Premier League title back to Manchester United.

The Portugal central defender knows Mourinho better than most after three spells with him at Porto, Chelsea and Real Madrid. He believes Louis van Gaal’s successor will have an instant impact and quickly restore former glories.

Mourinho will be at Old Trafford on Sunday for Unicef's annual Soccer Aid match, but is not expected to sit in the dugout for what would have been his first match in charge at The Theatre of Dreams since he was announced as United’s new boss.

Carvalho thinks the four-year wait for a title will end on his old manager’s watch. Mourinho has long since courted the job, even before Sir Alex Ferguson vacated in 2013, and wants to spend millions in a bid to close the gap between themselves and Guardiola’s Manchester City. 

United have twice checked in with Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi over the course of the last fortnight to gauge his situation at the Nou Camp and are set to back their manager this summer.

Carvalho believes Mourinho will succeed quickly - and doesn’t think any lingering affection for Chelsea will deter him.

‘He's a great coach, the best. I have no doubt that he's going to be a champion with Manchester United again,’ the 38-year-old said. 

‘I hope that things go well.

‘Chelsea is a special club for me and for him as well but overall he's a professional coach and he deserves to be in a big club, so Manchester United is also a big club so I think he's going to do very well there.’

Guardiola has an ally from his past too, with ex-Barcelona captain Xavi declaring that United - and by association Mourinho - will not represent City's closest rivals next year.