Former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho is wanted by wealthy Chinese football chiefs to help their country become one of the game's superpowers, reports the London Evening Standard.

The former Chelsea manager is being courted by those who run football in China, with clubs there having already spent a staggering amount on players since the turn of the year.

Mourinho and his agent, Jorge Mendes, were pictured with Zhang Dazhong, the chief executive of Alisports in Shanghai last month.

Alisports is very influential in Chinese sport — its parent company, Alibaba, half-owns top-club Guangzhou Evergrande — and Standard Sport understands a meeting took place about how to involve Mourinho in football.

It is believed Mourinho will be offered an ad-hoc consultancy role, with his advice sought on how to improve all areas of the game in China — the national team, the Chinese Super League, coaching techniques from the grass roots to the top clubs and transfer strategies.

However, the 53-year-old has no wish, at this stage of his career, to manage in China. Sacked by Chelsea in December, Mourinho would like his next job to be in top-level European football, with Manchester United a strong possibility.