Alvaro Morata: 'Jose Mourinho now my rival'

Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata has said that Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is now his "rival" as the sides prepare to meet on Sunday.

Morata made his professional debut under Mourinho while at Real Madrid in 2010 and won the La Liga title twice in his four-year tenure in the Spanish capital.

The striker will meet up with Mourinho again when Chelsea face United this weekend after joining the Blues from Juventus in the summer.

"I have a good relationship with Jose [Mourinho]," Morata told reporters. "He was my first coach in professional football and he gave me the chance to be a professional. He made me the first contract.

"Sometimes we send messages but not speaking about football, asking if everything's OK and some jokes.

"It's good and I appreciate these things because he was my first coach but now he's - not my enemy - my rival."

Chelsea are four points adrift of United going into the weekend's fixture.