Jose Mourinho, right, had been widely expected to return to Chelsea if he leaves Real Madrid at the end of this season -- but Alex Ferguson's decision to retire has prompted a flood of bets from punters that the Portuguese coach will instead go to Manchester United.
(CNN) -- Alex Ferguson's decision to step down as Manchester United manager after more than a quarter of a century in charge leaves the club's hierarchy with the unenviable task of replacing the Scot, given his phenomenal success at Old Trafford.
Ferguson has won more than 30 trophies, including 13 English league championships and two European Cups. It is a record that most managers might wilt under given the level of expectation that will inevitably accompany Ferguson's successor.
Read: Alex Ferguson retires as Manchester United manager
"It's impossible to emulate Ferguson and deliver what he has done," according to former Monaco technical director and chief executive Tor-Kristian Karlsen.
"The brief for manager is to keep winning trophies. But United want to re-establish themselves as the No. 1 club in the world and they are a long way from that," Karlsen told CNN.
Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson announced he will retire at the end of the English Premier League season. Ferguson has managed the team for 26 years, making him the longest-serving manager in Premier League history.
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"The club is a massive worldwide brand and is now judged on its European performance. On a worldwide basis the Champions League is the Holy Grail.
"Perhaps the one criticism that could be made of the current squad is that it doesn't have a Lionel Messi, a Cristiano Ronaldo or a Radamel Falcao."
Jose Mourinho and David Moyes are two of the potential candidates in the frame to fill Ferguson's shoes -- CNN profiles the duo below and asks Karlsen to give a boardroom view on the two men's chances at Old Trafford.
David Moyes
Mourinho has been heavily backed to succeed Ferguson despite hinting at a return to Chelsea, but Everton manager David Moyes is the favorite to take over from the 71-year-old Scot.
Appointed by the Liverpool-based club in March 2002, Moyes is very much in the Ferguson mold.
Both were born in Glasgow, though Ferguson played for Rangers while Moyes featured for city rivals Celtic at the start of his playing career.
The steely-eyed, taciturn Moyes is now the third longest-serving manager in the English Premier League, behind Ferguson and Arsenal's Arsene Wenger.
Despite a lack of financial resources, Everton have consistently exceeded expectations under Moyes and in 2005 the club qualified for the Champions League, while also reaching the FA Cup final four years later.
Prior to joining Everton, Moyes managed Preston North End, winning promotion from the third tier of English football to the brink of the Premier League.
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The question mark against the 50-year-old is that he has never won any of the three major English trophies -- the Premier League, the FA Cup and the League Cup.
Remarkably his Everton side has never been able to win at Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool in 44 attempts.
His record in the transfer market is mixed. While Marouane Fellaini and Kevin Mirallas have been notable successes, the likes of Per Kroldrup, Andy van der Meyde and Andy Johnson were underwhelming acquisitions.
Read: Benitez to leave Chelsea at the end of the season
How would he cope with a bigger budget and better players at his disposal?
There is also the question of Moyes' relationship with one of United's star players -- Wayne Rooney.
In 2008, the Everton manager accepted "substantial" undisclosed libel damages when he sued Rooney, his co-author Hunter Davies and HarperCollins, the publishers of "Wayne Rooney -- My Story So Far," following allegations that he leaked details of a confidential conversation with the player.
A year later Rooney phoned Moyes personally to apologize.
If the United board do plump for Moyes, they will not have to pay any compensation as the Scot's Everton contract runs out at the end of the season and no agreement has been reached over a new deal.
Karlsen's verdict: "Moyes is the favorite, but I think he is the conservative option.
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"If Moyes is appointed, the club would be in good hands. He's a balanced and sensible option.
"I don't think he would have a problem in taking charge of a club of United's size. He would also have the advantage of Ferguson potentially mentoring him.
"On the flip side, there is Moyes' lack of European experience. There is also the lack of experience of working with star players. The bigger the ego, the harder they are to manage -- that is a special art.
"Having said that, Moyes deserves a big job -- arguably it wasn't realistic for Everton to qualify for the Champions League."
Jose Mourinho
Over the last few weeks the coach of Spanish club Real Madrid has been strongly linked with a return to the English Premier League as his old team Chelsea seeks to replace interim manager Rafael Benitez.
Mourinho offers the complete package as manager -- an unparalleled track record of success allied to an ability to motivate players that inspires loyalty long after he has moved on to new teams.
He has the knack of getting journalists to eat out of his hands as he delivers a succession of quotable quotes. No coach gives better press conferences than Mourinho, evidenced by his pre-match briefing ahead of Real's game with Malaga this week as he skilfully squashed criticism from one of his own players and defiantly gave away no clues about his future.
Read: Mourinho pulls no punches at Real Madrid
However, given he is the only coach to win European football's top three leagues, Mourinho's time at the Bernabeu has been mixed.
"Teddy is very sad," wrote Instagram user @ejgemmag In Manchester, England, of her toy after hearing news of United manager Alex Ferguson's retirement.
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Alex Ferguson has announced he is retiring at the end of this season, having won his 13th English Premier League title in more than 26 years as manager of Manchester United.
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The 50-year-old Portuguese has won one La Liga title, last season, but looks set to miss out to archrivals Barcelona this time around. He has also guided Real to a Spanish Cup win, while his team will play city rivals Atletico in this year's final.
But Mourinho's quest to win the European Champions League for a third time in his career has faltered at Real, losing in the semifinals for three years in a row -- last month being beaten 4-3 on aggregate by German club Borussia Dortmund.
Mourinho has made no secret of his desire to return to England, with media reports claiming he has already negotiated a return to Chelsea at the end of the season.
His previous spell in charge saw him lead the Blues to their first top-flight title for 55 years in 2005. He won five trophies in his three seasons in London.
Mourinho forged his reputation when his Porto side famously knocked Manchester United out of the European Cup at Old Trafford in 2004, running down the touchline to celebrate the late clinching goal. Porto went on to win the Champions League that year.
After Porto and then Chelsea, Mourinho coached Inter Milan, winning the Champions League, the Italian league title and the Italian Cup in his second and final season with the club, before leaving to join Real.
But with that unimpeachable track record of success, comes volatility.
Read: Will Real Madrid coach Mourinho stay or go?
As well as the incendiary media conferences, Mourinho has occasionally overstepped the mark -- no more so than in his 2011 altercation with the now Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova, when the Portuguese coach poked his opponent in the eye when the Catalan was Pep Guardiola's assistant.
"I'm there to win," Mourinho, who often refers to Ferguson as "The Boss", told CNN last year as he reflected on his coaching philosophy.
"I'm there with my team to try to win. I'm there and I live the game, I live the match as if it was the last match of my career.
"So people look at me and they see what they see. After that, in press conferences, it's the other place where people know me.
"In press conferences, there is still a match to play. Before the match, press conference is pre-match and after the match, press conference is post-match, but it's a match."
Karlsen's verdict: "Mourinho is the ideal candidate. He is the only manager who can offer you a guarantee of success.
"With a manager with a lesser profile, if the next season doesn't start well then they will come under immense pressure.
"But given Mourinho's track record no-one can criticize Mourinho. He has proven that he could work under the most intense pressure.
"That is the biggest threat to a manager -- the environment that they are working in -- and when the pressure becomes too much, you become reactive rather than sticking to the plan.
"You would never have that problem with Mourinho.
"As for whether Mourinho's combative personality would damage the United 'brand,' he is clever enough to tone it down. Don't forget that Ferguson often thrived on conflict as a way of putting pressure on United's opponents.
"The United job is a role where your persona is almost as important as your man-management skills -- it is about the statement that you make.
"Mourinho fits the bill. He has that charisma that made Ferguson so special."
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Ferguson's fellow Scot, Everton manager David Moyes, had previously been the bookmakers' favorite to take over at Old Trafford. The 50-year-old Scot has impressed on a tight budget at the English Premier League club since his arrival in 2002.
Moyes is out of contract in the summer -- as is Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes. This season the 68-year-old coach has guided Bayern to the Bundesliga title as well as the Champions League final - the Munich club will play German rivals Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on May 25. However, Heynckes will step down at the end of this season after Bayern opted to appoint Pep Guardiola on a three-year contract from July 1.
Jurgen Klopp is also among the bookies' frontrunners, having guided Borussia Dortmund to this month's European Champions League final. The 45-year-old coach helped Dortmund win the German Bundesliga title the previous two seasons.
Ferguson's former "supersub" Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is another linked with the job. The 40-year-old Norwegian, a Champions League winner with United in 1999, began his managerial career with Molde after injury ended his playing days, and has already won two domestic titles in his homeland. Before that he successfully coached United's reserves.
Michael Laudrup is also seen as a contender after a successful first season in the English Premier League with Swansea, guiding the Welsh club to the League Cup trophy. The former Barcelona star has previous managerial experience in Spain with Getafe and Mallorca, and in Russia with Spartak Moscow.
Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti is another being backed to replace Ferguson. The 53-year-old Italian has won virtually every honor in the game as a player and manager with clubs including AC Milan, Roma and Chelsea. There has been intense speculation Ancelotti will leave French league leaders at the end of the season.
Former United captain Roy Keane was once seen as Ferguson's future successor, but the Irishman has focused on media work since being sacked by English second division team Ipswich in January 2011. He took Sunderland into the Premier League at the first attempt but quit in December 2008 after a run of poor results.
Rene Meulensteen, right, has been Ferguson's assistant since 2008, but the 49-year-old Dutchman is not expected to make the step up to the top job despite an association with United that started more than a decade ago as youth coach.
One of the outsiders is veteran United player Ryan Giggs, who has won 13 English league titles under Ferguson since his debut in 1991. The Welshman, who is 40 in November, has signed another one-year playing contract.
Mike Krzyzewski, also known as Coach K, has coached Duke University's men's basketball team since 1980, putting him in his 33rd season as head coach.
Eddie Robinson served as Grambling State University's head football coach for 57 seasons from 1941 to 1997. Robinson -- here listening to the national anthem before his final game -- coached more than 4,000 players.
Al Arbour coached the New York Islanders for 20 years, with a year-long stint as vice president of player development for the team in 1987.
Andy Landers has coached the University of Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball team since 1979 and continues to this day.
Head coach emeritus Pat Summitt of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA history of either men's or women's teams. She coached for 38 years before stepping down in 2012 to fight early onset dementia.
Gregg Popovich is in his 17th year as coach of the San Antonio Spurs.
Tom Landry coached the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1988 and turned the team into one of the most dominant in the National Football League until the early '80s.
Connie Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics, now based in Oakland, California, from 1901 until his retirement at age 88 in 1950.
Instagrammer @johnwalker021, who is half English and half Swedish, displayed his shirt with pride and posted a football chant in honor of Ferguson: "So here's to Alex Ferguson. He'll take us all the way! We're on the road to glory now! Winning at home and away."
"I felt like I had been punched in the stomach and contemplated calling in sick to work," said Instagram user @jplubrani, in active service in the U.S. military from Los Angeles. "I got a tear in my eye ... All those emotions at once!"
"Lifelong fan" @alexbalding shows his red devil tattoo -- Red Devils is the club's nickname -- done the very morning of the announcement Ferguson was to retire. He said he was "devastated" by the news.
"The man will definitely be missed," said @sosogeed813, who shared this picture from his first Manchester United game. "It was an experience of a lifetime ... It is the beautiful game after all. Thanks Sir Alex Ferguson!"
In Oatley, Australia, @frankiegram1 showed off a sad look while wearing a Manchester United top (with help from his owner, Matt).
"It's going to be interesting without him," said Instagrammer @kurto12.
"Seeing my favorite team with another manager next season, that's going to be tough to get used to," said Instagrammer @shar316 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Thai-Brit Instagrammer @KrisRedford posted a picture of himself proudly wearing his United team shirt.
Instagrammer @mrsagatha_sari's young son Waltteri wears his United jersey to play football in the southern Finland where they live, in this photo from last summer. She said she was "very sad" about Ferguson's retirement, but "I guess that change might even be good."
The 71-year-old is the most successful and longest-serving manager in United's history, having also won two European Champions League crowns, five FA Cups and four League Cups.
Ferguson survived a difficult first four years at Manchester United before winning a title -- the 1990 FA Cup. Here he celebrates with Bryan Robson, who became the first United captain to lift the trophy three times after beating Crystal Palace 1-0 in the final replay.
Ferguson lifted the European Cup Winners' Cup for the second time in his career in 1991, when United beat Barcelona 2-1 in the final. He had previously won the now defunct tournament with Scottish club Aberdeen.
In 1993, United won the English title for the first time in 26 years, and Ferguson took the club on a tour of South Africa, where he met Nelson Mandela before the ANC leader became the country's first post-apartheid president.
Ferguson celebrates with his assistant Brian Kidd after United won the Premiership again in 1994, then went on to secure a domestic double by beating Chelsea in the FA Cup final. United repeated the feat in 1996.
Ferguson with his grandson Jake before the 1999 FA Cup final victory against Newcastle that sealed United's third double in six years.
Just four days later, United completed a treble with an incredible last-gasp win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. Ferguson and keeper Peter Schmeichel hold the trophy in Barcelona.
Ferguson tried to retire more than a decade ago, announcing at the start of the 2001-02 season that it would be his last. However, he changed his mind the following February but United failed to reach the Champions League final -- which was to be played in his native Glasgow.
Another European title followed in 2008, but Barcelona handed United disappointment in the 2009 and 2011 finals. However, Ferguson and his players still earned a parade the latter season after winning a record 19th English league title -- the Scot's 12th.
The next season, United commemorated Ferguson's 25 years as manager on November 5, 2011.
As a player, Ferguson was a prolific goalscorer for Scottish clubs St. Johnstone and Dunfermline, but his big move to Glasgow Rangers in 1967 proved disappointing and he left two years later. He ended his playing days at Ayr in 1974 without winning a major honor.
Ferguson made his name as a manager at Aberdeen. His fourth Scottish Cup win in 1986 was his last success with the Dons, having won three Scottish league titles and the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup -- beating mighty Real Madrid in the final.
Ferguson, who briefly managed Scotland at the 1986 World Cup, overhauled the squad at Old Trafford and introduced some of the finest players to grace the EPL in the past two decades.
Arguably the most important signing was that of French forward Eric Cantona, a $1.9 million bargain from Leeds who led United's surge to dominance in the 1990s.
The 1993 addition of young midfielder Roy Keane in a then British record transfer fee of £3.75 million from Nottingham Forest provided United with a ferocious future captain.
Ferguson also introduced young talent such as David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers Gary and Phil -- who all went on to become integral members of his team.
Ferguson played a key role in resurrecting the career of Beckham, who had been vilified by England fans after being sent off during the 1998 World Cup defeat by Argentina.
Ferguson famously beat United's rivals Manchester City to sign Giggs as a teenager, and the Welsh winger has repaid his faith by staying with the club until the present day.
Ferguson's signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003 paid off as the Portugal forward fired United to Champions League glory in 2008 and was named world player of the year -- the first from the EPL to do so -- before joining Real Madrid in a record $130 million deal.
Ferguson is well known for his fiery temper and his motivational skills.
In 2003, he infamously kicked a boot into the face of Beckham in the dressing room after a match, but refused to apologize. "If I'd tried it 100 times or million times, it wouldn't happen again," he said. "If it did, I would carry on playing."
United striker Wayne Rooney said Ferguson's team talk ahead of the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea in Moscow "made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up." United denied the London side a first European title after a penalty shootout.
United reached the final again the following season, but lost to Barcelona. Here Ferguson speaks with Britain's Prince William at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy.
Ferguson's last match on the European stage was a defeat by Ronaldo's Real Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16 second-leg match at Old Trafford on March 5, 2013.
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