Jose Mourinho has insisted that his appointment as Manchester United manager has come at the perfect time in his career.

The 53-year-old was officially announced as the Red Devils' new boss on Friday, bringing an end to his five-month spell out of the game.

Mourinho, who has taken charge of European heavyweights Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Chelsea in the past, claims that he is "ready" to get going and is now relishing the chance to prove his worth at the club.

"I think I am in the right moment in my career," he told MUTV. "Manchester United is one of these clubs where you need really to be prepared. It's what I used to call a giant club.

"Giant clubs must be for the best managers. I think I'm ready for it. I could say I'm happy, proud honoured, but the reality is what I love is to work and I cannot wait for 7 July.

"It's curious that I played so many times against Manchester United with other clubs and there was empathy. I was pushed by that feeling to say sometimes things my clubs were not happy with. For example when I won with Real Madrid I said the best team had lost. Not many people were happy with that."

Mourinho, the winner of 22 trophies in the past 13 years, was sacked by Chelsea last December after a poor start to the Blues' Premier League title defence.