International breaks are now where ex-Reds assistant boss Carlos Queiroz earns his living. He's revealed the decision to leave United was far from easy and says he'll "never forget" his time at Old Trafford.

"It's impossible to be at United for five years and forget the things that I experienced," Queiroz told MUTV. "I'll never forget that period of my life working with the players, the staff, the manager, and especially the fans."

The job offer to work with Portugal naturally played on Queiroz's sense of national duty, but also presented the chance to return to some home comforts.

"The chance to become the Portugal national team manager was difficult to turn down," he adds. "I left Portugal in 1993 and my initial decision was to be away for six months. Then, nearly 15 years later, I still hadn’t gone back.

"After five years in England the chance to manage Portugal was the combination of two wishes; firstly, that it is a very difficult to ignore the offer of being manager of your country; the second being that I could return home and be with family and friends. It was a great attraction.

"But, on the other side, there were a lot reasons to stay - the majority of the reasons were to stay at United. It wasn’t an easy decision. I didn't say goodbye when I left United, it isn’t goodbye. Manchester United is a special place and I will always have a huge fondness for the club."