JOSE MOURINHO has opened up on legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson following his Old Trafford exit.

The former Red Devils boss also hinted at more details being revealed in his upcoming Netflix documentary.

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Fans will be given a never-before-seen look at his two-and-a-half-year stint when the film releases on the streaming platform.

Before that, though, Mourinho’s current side Fenerbahce host United in the Europa League on Thursday.

Ahead of the match, he was asked about Ferguson being relieved of his ambassadorial status by the club this month.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Mourinho told reporters: “My relation with Sir Alex was amazing, incredible, when my Netflix documentary comes out you will know more about the reason why I have so much respect for him.

“The ambassadorial role, I really don’t know that situation. But doesn’t matter why, doesn’t matter what.

“Sir Alex has the most important thing: which is the love and respect of every Man United fan around the world. And that is more important than an ambassadorial role, is more important than a few pounds that he can make that he doesn’t need.

“The most important thing is the love and respect that every Man United fan has for him.”

Ferguson served as United boss for almost 27 years between 1986 and 2013.

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During that time, he won 38 trophies including two Champions Leagues and 13 Premier League titles.

However, the 82-year-old has been axed from his £2million-a-year role as a club ambassador by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Mourinho, meanwhile, remains the most successful United boss in the post-Ferguson era.

Across his time at Old Trafford, the former Chelsea boss won the Europa League and Carabao Cup.

He also guided the Red Devils to a second place finish in the league in his final full season in charge.

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ABU DHABI – Diego Lopes traveled across the world because of maybe.

Maybe, he’ll fight. Maybe, he won’t.

Four days out from UFC 308, Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) doesn’t know. He’s the emergency backup for the featherweight title fight between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.

“I’m training for both guys,” Lopes told MMA Junkie at UAE Warriors 55 on Tuesday “… I’m ready for everything, bro.”

In usual classy fashion (though unusually fluent English explanation), Lopes explained that he hopes his services are not needed. He wishes both main event competitors the best and is as excited as the fans to see the fight.

“I’m so excited too, to watch the fight,” Lopes said. “I hope Friday morning that everything is OK and the guys stay healthy for the fight this Saturday. I’m so excited for this Saturday night. … But if the UFC needs me, I’m ready.”

Should he not fight, it’s possible the stars will align for a UFC 312 battle vs. Alexander Volkanovski in Sydney. The event is scheduled for Feb. 8 (Feb. 9 local). At a recent press conference announcing the event, Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) name-dropped Lopes as a potential opponent.

Lopes loves that idea and said if his services aren’t needed at UFC 308, he’s ready and hopeful a fight vs. Volkanovski comes to fruition.

“If UFC has this plan, yeah,” Lopes said. “I’m ready for the fight vs. Volkanovski in Australia. I think it’s the biggest deal for the division for the next title fight. If the UFC me as the fighter to fight Volkanovski in Australia, I’m ready. … Title or no title, I’m excited for the fight vs. Volk.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Speaking outside the Caledonian Stadium on Wednesday, former Dundee United, Rangers, Everton and Newcastle forward Ferguson said he and two of his coaches had been let go.

Earlier, Ferguson said he had “always been against administration”.

Players and other staff are expected to hear if they still have jobs on Thursday.

Administrators BDO said they were working to “secure the long term future” of the Highland club by attempting to find new owners.

If that fails, assets could be sold and the money raised distributed to creditors.

Investor Alan Savage, a former club chairman, told BBC Scotland News he would give it his “best shot” to help save the club.

Asked if he was confident it could be saved, he replied: “Of course I am, yeah.”

Savage pledged to help anyone who lost their job to find a new one.

Asked about his own role if the club survives, he said: “It’s a step-by-step process and until we’ve gone through those steps it’s a bit early to say.”

Said Nurmagomedov lost his opponent and now has the weekend off.

On Wednesday, UFC announced that Nurmagomedov’s scheduled bantamweight bout against Daniel Santos at UFC 308 this Saturday has officially been cancelled. Santos’ withdrawal was first reported by MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin.

Officials had been attempting to find a replacement opponent for Santos and several fighters—including flyweight Charles Johnson, who competed this past Saturday—chimed in on social media lobbying for the opportunity, but the decision has been made to book Nurmagomedov for a later date instead.

The reason for Santos’ withdrawal has not been disclosed.

Nurmagomedov (18-3) is yet to compete in 2024 having seen two bouts fall through. In addition to the Santos cancellation, Nurmagomedov withdrew from a bout against Montel Jackson this past June.

The 32-year-old has put together an impressive UFC career so far, winning seven of his nine fights for the promotion. Most recently, Nurmagomedov scored a fast first-round submission of Muin Gafurov at UFC 294.

Bob Pockrass

FOX NASCAR Insider

Joey Logano already has made a little bit of history as the underdog story in the current NASCAR playoff system.

Having finished 15th in the regular-season point standings, he is the driver lowest in regular-season points to make the Championship 4 since the start of the stage-point era in 2017.

That he hasn’t had the greatest of years has led to some criticism on whether he truly is a Championship 4 driver.

And just imagine the reaction if Logano wins the Cup title after being 15th in regular-season points and then initially not even making the semifinal round until Alex Bowman’s disqualification from Charlotte resurrected Logano’s championship hopes.

The stats don’t lie:

–Logano has six top-5s this year; no other driver in this round has fewer than nine, and Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson have 13 this year.

–Logano has 11 top-10s; no other driver in this round has fewer than 15, and Bell leads all with 21.

–Logano ranks eighth in miles led and ninth in laps led this year. Logano has led 3.54 percent of the laps, while three drivers have led more than 10 percent — Larson (18.64 percent), Bell (11.53 percent) and Denny Hamlin (10.64 percent).

But Logano does have three wins. Only one driver has more this year — Larson with six. Now one can look at Logano’s victories — a five-overtime fuel-mileage strategy win at Nashville, a drafting-track win at Atlanta and then the fuel-mileage strategy win at Las Vegas that has vaulted him into the championship fight in a couple weeks at Phoenix — and say they didn’t come from dominating performances.

Wins are wins. That is what drivers and teams try to do every week. Logano has three of them, and just for that reason alone, that should be enough to say he has had a season that doesn’t devalue championship status. 

Logano noted last week how in the Next Gen era, dominant seasons are unlikely. He said he and his son were going through a pre-Next Gen season yearbook, and it dawned on Logano how different the series has been since 2022.

“He started reading the finishing order and the top 10 was almost the same every weekend [pre-Next Gen],” Logano said. “It was the same top-10 drivers and now you look at the top 10 and it’s different every week.  There are people in and out of that thing.  It’s not like you’re clicking off 20-something top 10s.

“There’s 10 cars doing that throughout the year.  It doesn’t happen anymore.  The game has changed.  This car has completely changed everything that we used to know about NASCAR and I just go with it because it’s just the craziest things we do now.  You look at the way we race on the track, the tracks that we go to — you name it and it can happen.”

Logano making the Championship 4 has happened. And as much as some might want to say this Logano has not performed to a championship level, his season has, in many ways, been impressive.

There was a reason that Logano entered the year with some doubting whether he would make the playoffs (this writer being one of them). The new Ford body was unproven and there was speculation maybe not as much of an improvement.

There was a reason that Logano entered the playoffs with some dismissing him with a first-round exit (this writer being one of them). Logano was fourth among the Ford drivers in the regular season. He had not run up front enough to show they would have enough opportunities to score points needed.

But now his two playoff victories have him at three wins, more than any other Ford driver this year. The only other Ford driver with more than one win is his Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, who has two.

Winning a championship in the current system is about a driver and team executing and performing to the best of their ability. Logano and his team have done that and possibly have been the best of that throughout the playoffs.

While other teams have suffered misfortunes on pit road or gotten collected in accidents, Logano has avoided those misfortunes except at Talladega, where most of the field was involved in an accident.

If he performs well at Phoenix to win the title, it would show another Herculean performance. He started 23rd at Phoenix in the spring and struggled before getting into an accident. The signs are there that a big gain is possible — at New Hampshire, a somewhat similar 1-mile track, in the summer, Logano qualified sixth and was top-three in each of the stages before an accident on a restart ruined his day.

Logano won’t enter the championship race as the favorite and more-than-likely IS viewed as the least-likely champion.

But if he does prevail, assuming he does it by winning or running near the front at Phoenix, he’ll be a champion deserving of praise and respect for a major accomplishment.

He wouldn’t have had the best season, but he has had a season where he made the most of the opportunities and improved to a point in the playoffs where he could be a factor. He’s shown grit and determination and performed when it mattered the most — the necessary ingredients for a champion.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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