Manchester United appoints Mourinho as manager

The Premier League just got a little bit more special.

Jose Mourinho, the self-anointed Special One, is back on the touchline, with Manchester United mercifully putting an end to the most protracted story of the season by hiring the Portuguese as the club's new manager on a three-year contract.

The agreement also includes an option for Mourinho to stay with the club until 2020.

Mourinho's appointment at Old Trafford coincides with Monday's decision to relieve Louis van Gaal of his managerial duties, with the much-maligned Dutch gaffer departing just days after leading the Red Devils to an FA Cup triumph over Crystal Palace.

Related: 5 people who will be dreading the return of Mourinho

"To become Manchester United manager is a special honour in the game," Mourinho said in a statement on the team's official website Friday. "It is a club known and admired throughout the world. There is a mystique and a romance about it which no other club can match.

"I have always felt an affinity with Old Trafford; it has hosted some important memories for me in my career and I have always enjoyed a rapport with the United fans. I’m looking forward to being their manager and enjoying their magnificent support in the coming years."

Shortly after the official announcement, Mourinho took to his Instagram account, which appears to have just been launched Friday, to post a picture of his contract and say, "Manchester United Football Club, Old Trafford, The Theatre Of Dreams".

The job at Old Trafford becomes Mourinho's first in England outside of London following two stints at Chelsea, where he was dismissed in December after the team's miserable title defence.

Chelsea won the league comfortably during Mourinho's second season back with the Blues during the 2014-15 campaign, but the club never overcame its poor start the following year, leading to Mourinho's dismissal after losing to eventual Premier League champions Leicester City.

Almost immediately after parting ways with Chelsea, Mourinho became an instant favourite to succeed Van Gaal, who only managed to secure a Champions League berth during one of his two seasons at the helm.

The Portuguese gaffer is expected to enter the transfer season with a laundry list of objectives which could lead to the arrival and departure of several notable players.

Related: 5 players who could follow Mourinho to Manchester United