Mourinho’s Man United move delayed over Chelsea rights to his name

Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United move has reportedly been delayed because former club Chelsea still own the rights to his name.

The Portuguese is set to be declared successor to Louis van Gaal after the Dutchman failed to guide the club to Champions League football this season.

And while Mourinho has agreed a move to Old Trafford, the official announcement has been delayed by legal wrangling.

The application was filed in March 2005, when the ex-Real boss was in his first season as Blues manager and on course to winning the League.

Mourinho’s name is trademarked under five classes of commerical goods, as diverse as boot polish, windscreen cleaning liquids, walking sticks and “underpants”.

The Champions League-winning boss has left Chelsea twice since then but in neither case did the trademarking of his name prove a barrier to taking over.

It is also not expected to stop him in the case of United.

Mourinho has no problem with the personal terms put up by Old Trafford chiefs – but it is believed terms of his image rights are still to be thrashed out.