Jose Mourinho has not worked for any team since he was fired by Manchester United last September, but there has never been an absence of speculations about where his next stop is. This week, Lyon from Ligue 1 was removed from the list of his probable stops, according to the club's president Jean-Michel Aulas.

"We had some fairly flattering exchanges over text. It was nice for everyone. He did not accept our proposal to meet because he has already chosen another club," said Aulas' reporters via a telephonic news conference.

Lyon on Monday sacked Sylvinho who led the team to only one win in nine games. As a heavyweight of the French league, the team understandably was looking for a heavyweight manger. Mourinho has already coached clubs in Premier League, Serie A and La Liga, and he might be interested in building a career with Ligue 1.

It turned out the "Special One" does not want to go to France as yet. So far, three clubs top the list of candidate teams for Mourinho's next stop.

Tottenham Hotspur

The runner-up of last season's UEFA Champions League was still trying to figure out what had gone wrong with the club. They lost three of their eight games so far in the Premier League and ranked only No. 9 on the table. On October 1, they lost to Bayern Munich 7-2 in the group game of the Champions League. Hotspur's Manager Mauricio Pochettino is sitting on a volcano.

Manchester United

An unnamed senior source at United told Jason Burt of the Daily Telegraph that the club will support Ole Solskjaer in the coming three years and this was reported amid increasing speculations that the 46-year-old will be fired after they lose to Liverpool on October 20. Having spent some 150 million pounds (about 187 million U.S. dollars) this summer for franchise improvement, all the Red Devils have gotten so far is two wins, three draws and three losses in their eight games in the Premier League. Before Solskjaer writes a thank-you letter to the team's seniors, he should first focus on how not to let the United be relegate.

Real Madrid

It may seem strange for Real Madrid to appear on the list because they have remained unbeaten and are currently No. 1 of La Liga. Nonetheless, let's not forget that less than three weeks earlier, no one would have been surprised if Zinedine Zidane was fired thanks to the club's disappointing performance. Besides, their performance of 2-2 to Club Brugge KV and 3-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League was simply too ugly. Real Madrid's President Florentino Perez has never been a patient boss. Zidane is now treading on eggshells.