Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has revealed that he has not spoken to Jose Mourinho about the mounting speculation that the Portuguese is on the verge of taking over at Old Trafford.
The former Chelsea boss is thought to be in advanced discussions with the United hierarchy about succeeding Van Gaal this summer, with a reported salary of £15m already agreed.
Van Gaal's charges suffered a surprise defeat at relegation candidates Sunderland on Saturday to further dent their Champions League hopes, and in a post-match press conference, the Dutchman was asked if he had spoken to Mourinho in light of the rumours.
"No," he replied. "In the football world that doesn't happen. I was chairman of the coaches federation in the Netherlands and we had a rule that you can never talk with a club without informing the present manager.
"But sometimes it has been broken by people and by managers. It is always like that. It is not always an honest world."
Van Gaal previously found himself in a similar situation when he accepted the top job at Barcelona in 1997 while Sir Bobby Robson was still manager.
