Mourinho’s Name Rights Delaying United Deal
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Chelsea’s ownership of the copyright to Jose Mourinho’s name is delaying his appointment as manager of Manchester United, according to Sky sources.
Mourinho is understood to have agreed personal terms to succeed the sacked Louis van Gaal at the Old Trafford, and his agent Jorge Mendes has all-but finalised the deal in London with Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward as of the time of reporting.
The pair met for face-to-face talks to resolve complications over image rights, and one of these is believed to be Chelsea’s ownership of the trademark to ‘Jose Mourinho’, despite Chelsea sacking him last December.
According to the Intellectual Property Office, Chelsea own the rights to Mourinho’s name being used on a string of merchandise including glassware, teddy bears and face masks.
A number of these items, including a large ‘Jose’ poster, are still on sale on the Chelsea megastore website.
The bill for this trademark to be lifted or transferred could reach hundreds of thousands of pounds, Sky sources understand.
Mourinho also has commercial deals with a number of companies of conflicting interest to United, including car manufacturer Jaguar, with one of United’s main sponsors being rival Chevrolet.
Chelsea have declined to comment.
