Hazard played under the Portuguese at Chelsea between 2013 and 2015, assuming an instrumental role in the Blues' Premier League title win in the 2014/2015 season.

Mourinho oversaw a torrid start to the subsequent campaign, losing nine of his first 16 league games, and was dismissed in December amid rumours of bust-ups with senior players, including Hazard.

Hazard is set to come up against his former boss when United travels to Stamford Bridge next weekend in the Premier League, and despite admitting that it was the right decision for Mourinho to leave Chelsea three years ago, Hazard maintains there is no other manager he would rather play for again.

"The last season under Mourinho was not pleasant anymore," he told Belgian newspaper HLN.

"We didn't win, we got into a sort of routine — training, training without having fun, it was better for all parties that the collaboration came to an end.

"If I'm now asked one coach with whom I want to work again, then I say: Mourinho."

Hazard concedes that Mourinho is quick to turn on his players if results are not going his way, but insists that when his sides are winning there is no better coach.

"If the results are poor, he starts criticising his players — you know that, but afterwards I've been able to accept that, it's part of his character," he added.

"If you win, Mourinho is the best coach you can imagine. Then he is a friend of yours — you can do whatever you want. Want one day off? He gives you two. If everything goes well, Mourinho will experience football like me: with ease.

"Even his own image of an extremely defensive coach was not too bad. He is far from adventurous like [Pep] Guardiola, but the year in which we became champions, we scored a lot of goals and played good games.

"I do not regret many things in my career, but that I have not been able to work with Mourinho at Chelsea anymore [is one].

"We had a team to get a lot of prizes, but we just ended up in a negative spiral."