Alex Ferguson is at a loss to know what to do with an expensive bottle of red wine which is threatening to go to waste now Jose Mourinho has left Chelsea.

The issue of wine has been a major talking point between the old Premier League rivals ever since Ferguson encountered Mourinho at Stamford Bridge three years ago to be presented with a barely drinkable offering which was too bad to be believed.

Ferguson never allowed Mourinho to live the blunder down, even though the now former Chelsea chief attempted to make up for the faux-pas by offering the Scot the most expensive bottle of Portuguese wine he could find on their next meeting.

The United manager had already decided what vintage to give Mourinho tomorrow when Chelsea head to Old Trafford. But somehow, a drink with Avram Grant does not hold the same appeal.

"I just do not know what I am going to do with my wine now," smiled Ferguson. "Jose leaving Chelsea is a disappointment for the game. He brought something fresh and new and I enjoyed the competition with him. I will miss the personal challenge.

"He enjoyed unparalleled success at Chelsea and it will be a big test for whoever replaces him. At the moment that person is Avram Grant."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger also paid tribute to the impact his former rival has had on the English game.

The pair have had major disputes during the former Chelsea manager's stay in England but there were no hard feelings from the Frenchman.

"It is basically sad because I feel Mourinho is a manager of quality," said the Arsenal manager. "I am a great believer in technical stability and therefore I don't think it is good news for football."

On their fractious relationship Wenger added: "We didn't get on the best but recently it has become better.

"That does not hide the fact I respected what he did and the quality of his work. Of course he is a great manager. He arrived when Chelsea were on the way up; they had a good side already and he did something more and made them winners.

"He deserves a lot of credit for that because it is never easy to win and in England it is maybe more difficult."

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, meanwhile, kept his feud with Mourinho going to the last yesterday by declining to offer any compliments about the Portuguese.

The Liverpool manager and Mourinho had made little secret of their animosity over the last few years, heightened by run-ins over Champions League semi-finals and Benitez' frequent comments that it was Roman Abramovich's billions that bought back-to-back Premier League titles for the west Londoners.

All Benitez would say was: "You know my relationship with him, it is better that I do not say anything.

"At the moment I am more worried about Birmingham boss Steve Bruce."

Liverpool face Bruce's side in the Premier League this afternoon.