Jose Mourinho has confirmed that he will be the new Chelsea manager by the end of the week as he "feels the people there love me".

Mourinho's era as Real Madrid boss ended on Saturday night with a 4-2 win over Osasuna in the Primera Division, with the Portuguese having already confirmed he would leave the Spanish giants at the end of the season

Before he left Spain, Mourinho spoke to Punto Pelota, Spanish football TV show, about his future plans and effectively ended months of speculation about his future.

"I'm going to London on Monday and at the end of the week I will be the manager of Chelsea," he said. "I feel the people there love me and in life you have to look for that.

"Life is beautiful and short and you must look for what you think is best for you."

Mourinho managed Chelsea between 2004 and 2007 and led them to back-to-back Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006.

The 50-year-old looks set to replace former interim manager Rafael Benitez, who left the club are leading them to a third-place finish and the Europa League trophy.

Mourinho's appointment may be imminent but the Premier League was forced to issue an apology to Chelsea after their own website jumped the gun on the announcement.

An article, headlined 'Jose Mourinho makes Chelsea return', was published on Sunday with Monday's date on it but has since been removed from the competition's official website.

A spokesman for the Premier League confirmed the article had been published in error.

"It was a publishing error," he said. "We took it down as soon as we were notified of it, and we've spoken to and apologised to Chelsea.

"We have no prior knowledge of any movement or any announcement (regarding Mourinho)."

The article's sub-header read 'Portuguese coach back at Stamford Bridge after signing a XX-year contract', and the Premier League indicated it was an article which was being prepared in anticipation of a possible announcement.