Rui Faria, Jose Mourinho’s long-serving assistant, is expected to be offered his first managerial job with Portuguese giants Benfica should they sack their coach.

Rui Vitoria is under extreme pressure at the Lisbon club, having lost the Portuguese league to Porto this season and may be replaced.

It was announced at the weekend that Faria is leaving Manchester United and severing his 17-year association with Mourinho, who has tipped the former fitness coach to take a top managerial job.

Faria’s departure is a significant blow to Mourinho although he has long talked up the 42-year-old’s prospects of taking charge of a club in recent weeks, aware that he wants to go. The pair have been together throughout Mourinho’s trophy-winning spells at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and United.

Mourinho first encountered Faria at Barcelona and then took him to Uniao Leiria as his fitness coach in 2001. Faria followed Mourinho to Porto, where they won the Uefa Cup and Champions League as well as back-to-back league titles and their careers took off.