Jose Mourinho in Real United love triangle as his former club continue to woo him despite United links

The La Liga giants are set to move for their former boss again as the Portuguese who has repeatedly said he would prefer an England job waits for Manchester United to make up their mind about him.

As they desperately hope they don't get embarrassingly booted out of the champions league in the hands of Wolfsburg, Real Madrid will make a desperate attempt to steal Jose Mourinho from under United’s clutches if it does happen tonight, Madrid reporter Ed Malyon writes.

Madrid president Florentino Perez failed in an effort to re-hire the Special One in January after dismissing his old Premier League enemy ­Rafael Benitez. He was rebuffed because Mourinho believed he was going to get the Man United job.

But with his Spanish giants now on the verge of finishing the season empty-handed after losing 2-0 in ­Wolfsburg on Wednesday in the first leg of their quarter-final, Perez is getting decidely twitchy.

Former Chelsea boss Mourinho is also getting edgy – about his chances of replacing Louis van Gaal. Last week, he revealed he had not signed any deal with any club, a claim that contradicts earlier reports that he had signed a pre-contractual agreement with the Red Devils.

Well-placed United sources are saying the club has not decided on who their manager will be next season.

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is keen to keep Van Gaal as dismissing the Dutchman, however unpopular he has become among fans, would bring more pressure on his own role at the head of the club’s football ­operations.

And the feeling at the Old Trafford club is that Van Gaal will be kept in place if United qualify for next season’s Champions League by finishing in the top four.

Senior figures at the Bernabeu have been told by Mourinho’s camp that he expects to become United manager.

But the uncertainty has opened a door for Perez, who is angry at his side’s under-achievement this season.

Expelled from the Copa del Rey in December and effectively out of the Spanish title race already, Madrid now face being knocked out of Europe’s premier tournament at the last-eight stage.

While Benitez's replacement, club legend Zinedine Zidane, has improved the mood around the training ground, Wednesday’s defeat in Germany reflects badly on the inexperienced Frenchman.

And the fact that Madrid have won La Liga just once in the last eight seasons is considered completely unacceptable by the club’s board. Mourinho was the man who delivered that solitary title in recent memory and Perez will test his uncertainty over the United job should Madrid fail to claw back Wolfsburg’s two-goal advantage.