Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly been banned from serving Christmas dinner to the club's players and staff this year.

A long-standing tradition at Old Trafford sees the boss and his assistants responsible for serving up the annual meal, due to be held this Friday at the club's Carrington training base.

According to The Sun, however, United's head chef Mike Donnelly has put paid to the plans for this year due to concerns that Mourinho and his team will be too generous with their portions.

"The United Christmas lunch used to be one of the highlights of the year, with the players enjoying being served by the people who usually bark the orders at them," a source told the newspaper.

"But this year the head chef has took matters into his own hands and told the manager and his team that they won't be serving the food.

"The problem is when the management do it, they pile the plates high and loads of food ends up wasted in the bin.

"When you're cooking for 200-odd people, that's a lot of time, effort and money going straight into the bin."

United's festive feast comes the day before Mourinho is due to take his side to Leicester City.