José Mourinho has named Wayne Rooney as the player he would most like to sign for Real Madrid but conceded it would be "impossible" to persuade the England striker to leave Manchester United.

Mourinho is poised to succeed Manuel Pellegrini as Real manager, having announced his departure from Internazionale, and has already name-checked Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole when talking about the players he would like to sign.

Rooney, however, is the footballer he admires the most, even more so than Lionel Messi of Barcelona, after a season in which the England international striker scored 34 goals for United and won the Professional Footballers' Association and Football Writers' Association player-of-the-year awards.

"I'm going to say it because it is impossible," Mourinho replied when asked to name one player he wanted to work with. "I would like to coach Rooney, as much for his football as for his mentality. But my friend, [Sir] Alex Ferguson, can relax, because it's impossible."