Jose Mourinho admits Manchester United are powerless to stop Marouane Fellaini leaving this summer

Jose Mourinho has acknowledged that there is little he can do to prevent Marouane Fellaini leaving if the midfielder runs down his contract.

Fellaini’s current deal at Old Trafford expires in June, and attempts to agree an extension have so far failed.

The Belgium international, 30, has made clear his frustration about the club’s delay in offering him an extension, arguing that it should have been sorted out last season.

He gave an interview this week in which he claimed that United had “made an error” in their negotiations, suggesting that he had asked Mourinho twice for an extension last season and made no progress.

Mourinho has acknowledged that the midfielder’s destiny remains in his own hands, but remains hopeful that scenario can be avoided.

He said: “I’m still positive. He’s important. He’s a player that I like. But he has a different position in relation to other players with contracts. We can control other players’ destiny but in Marouane’s case, the destiny is in his hands.

“He knows I want him to stay, the club wants him to stay, he has an offer from us and it’s up to him to say yes or no.

“I am still positive, as he likes to be here, he likes the feeling of the manager trusting him and I think there is a good chance for him to stay. But if he leaves, so be it.”

Mourinho takes his team to Brighton in the Premier League on Friday, knowing that a victory would almost mathematically secure second place, their best final position in five years.

United will be without top scorer Romelu Lukaku, who is recovering from the ankle injury that forced him off during last Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal.

However, he is hopeful that the Belgium striker will recover in time to face their former club Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 19. “I hope so,” Mourinho said. “It looks positive.”

The manager, meanwhile, has indicated that he is leaving Eric Bailly out of his team at present in order to give other defenders a chance of making their countries’ World Cup squads.

Bailly will not be going to Russia as Ivory Coast failed to qualify, but Argentina’s Marcos Rojo, England pair Chris Smalling and Phil Jones and Sweden’s Victor Lindelof all have varying hopes of making the tournament.

Mourinho said that Bailly is not injured, but that he can expect his chances to be limited during the final weeks of the English domestic season.

open image in gallery

The United boss said: “There’s no situation. He is fine. There is no injury. He is one of our five central defenders.

“Honestly, my work is not about World Cups and preparing players for the World Cup or giving chances to players at the World Cup.

“But he’s the only central defender whose country is not at the World Cup, so if I have to make a kind of more emotional effective choice to help my players, he’s the one I’m not going to help.”