Manchester United fans were pretty surprised when the club announced the departure of Rui Faria last week.

Jose Mourinho's trusted number two has done it all with the self-proclaimed 'Special One' during their 17 years as a duo, from winning a treble with Inter Milan to amassing 100 La Liga points with in a single season with Real Madrid.

But after gathering all that knowledge from his journeys with Mourinho, Faria is looking to break into the managerial world as a number one.

You can't blame him, particularly with the constant reports of Mikel Arteta - Pep Guardiola's number two - being the favourite for the Arsenal job.

Nevertheless, United will be losing one of the very best, with Mourinho announcing that he will not be hiring a new number two next season.

So what's next for Faria? He was actually being linked with the Arsenal job, but it seems inevitable that it will be either Arteta or Max Allegri.

It would have been the kind of first gig anyone in the field would have loved, but the job Faria has actually now been offered isn't far behind.

As reported by the Telegraph, Mourinho's former right-hand man is in line to become the new manager of Benfica.

Their current boss Rui Vitoria is almost certain to be sacked after a disastrous season which saw them surrender the Portuguese title to FC Porto.

Benfica were also knocked out of the Portuguese Cup, with bitter city rivals Sporting Lisbon the heavy favourites to claim the title in the final vs Aves.

The report states Faria would prefer a move back to Portugal to start off his managerial career, effectively putting an end to any rumours linking him with any Premier League side.

Mourinho actually began his own career at Benfica, making the step up from assistant manager in 2000.

It was a short spell before he moved on to Uniao de Leiria for a season, with his sensational two-year stint at Porto coming shortly after in 2002.