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Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been sacked by AS Roma after two-and-a-half years in charge.

Mourinho leaves Roma placed ninth in Serie A and five points adrift of a Champions League spot. They have won just one of their last six league matches in what was the Portuguese coach’s third season as manager.

Roma suffered a defeat to AC Milan at the weekend and several fans booed Mourinho while he watched the game from the stands as he served a touchline ban.

To make matters worse, they were recently eliminated from the Coppa Italia by rivals Lazio, where Mourinho was sent off.

It turns out Mourinho’s job became untenable and Roma threw him the axe this morning. His contract at Roma was due to expire in June.

A statement from Roma read: “We would like to thank Jose on behalf of all of us at AS Roma for his passion and efforts since his arrival at the club.

“We will always have great memories of his tenure at Roma, but we believe that an immediate change is in the best interests of the club.

“We wish Jose and his assistants all the best in their future endeavours.”

The highlight of Mourinho’s reign at Roma came in 2022 when he guided them to their first European trophy when lifting the inaugural Europa Conference League trophy.

Roma are currently 22 points behind league leaders Inter Milan. They take on 18th-placed Verona on Saturday.

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