Mourinho: I agreed to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013 before rejoining Chelsea
Jose Mourinho said he agreed to replace Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager in 2013 but changed his mind and rejoined Chelsea, he revealed in a new Netflix documentary about his career. The 63-year-old made the admission while recounting the sequence of events that followed his departure from Real Madrid.
"When I left Real Madrid, I signed to go to Manchester United after Sir Alex," Mourinho said in the documentary, a claim Ferguson corroborated when he told the programme: "He was offered the job, yes," and "I sat him down and explained the situation." Ferguson added: "As far as I was concerned, he was accepting. And then, within hours, it changed."
Ferguson described a late-night phone call in which Mourinho withdrew: "One night, he phoned me and he was crying and he says, 'Alex, I can't take it. I've given my word to Chelsea and I'm not going to break my word'," adding, "The reason he gave to me, I could understand, but I was disappointed." Mourinho said he had been "very flattered" to be offered the job "because Manchester United has an incredible appeal" and defended his choice: "But one thing is love for football, another thing is love for a certain club," and "For me to lose the chance to be the coach to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson was dramatic, but I don't regret (it) because it was a decision that I made with my heart."
After returning to Stamford Bridge in 2013, Mourinho won his third Premier League title and the League Cup. He later accepted a second chance at United in May 2016, succeeding Louis van Gaal, and over a two-and-a-half year spell at Old Trafford secured both the League Cup and the Europa League before being sacked in December 2018 following a slump in results.
Mourinho recounted his earlier spell at Real Madrid, saying that after taking over a struggling side he helped them challenge Pep Guardiola's Barcelona and won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup in his first two seasons at the Bernabeu. The article notes that the 100 points they amassed in 2011-12 remains a La Liga record, but that he was dismissed at the end of 2012-13 when Real finished 15 points behind Barcelona.
Former Spain captain Iker Casillas and ex-Real midfielder Sami Khedira also spoke about the breakdown in relationships under Mourinho. Casillas said: "The relationship Jose and I had was very cold," and "In those years, I really think it was taken to a limit where in the end, the rope broke." Khedira said: "Iker is a Real Madrid legend, loved by every Real Madrid supporter. He benched him, doesn't speak to him, spoke bad about him in the media, so then this locker room was a nightmare, honestly," and added that relationships between Mourinho and many players were broken, naming Cristiano, the Spanish guys, Casillas and Sergio Ramos.
Mourinho defended his treatment of Casillas and described three early conversations with the captain: "The first three times that I spoke to Casillas, the captain, the first thing he told me was, 'I want to ask for more holidays for the national team players'," and "The second time he spoke to me was, 'I would like to ask you to put the training sessions one hour later because at the time you want the training sessions, there is a lot of traffic in Madrid'. The third time he comes to speak with me was, 'We don't want to go to [the] hotel. We prefer just to meet on matchday and go direct to the stadium to play'. And in a short period of time, I realised they're spoilt." On the clash over his attitude to Barcelona players, Mourinho said: "There are things that I don't accept and I will never accept and when somebody doesn't respect me, it's a problem. I say, this is Barcelona, Real Madrid. When you go to the national team, then you can kiss the guy, but not now. This is war."
Mourinho also recounted disputes with former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, saying: "Abramovich - incredible passion for football, but knowing nothing about the situation," and noting the club signed Andriy Shevchenko despite his objections: "Shevchenko was on the table because of connections with the boss, connections with agents and I never wanted to sign him, but I never told no one, so it's also my responsibility. You want to know the player that I wanted? [Samuel] Eto'o." He recalled returning to Stamford Bridge in February 2010 with Inter Milan and beating Chelsea 2-1 in the Champions League last 16, saying: "Honestly, I was playing against Roman that game," and "I go home happy and he goes home upset. Because I know how much he loved Chelsea, I know how much he loves to win. 'But I needed revenge, because football belongs to people like me. The other ones are the intruders that don't belong. Football belongs to the players, belongs to the coaches, belongs to the fans. Football will always belong to us.'" The article notes Shevchenko joined Chelsea in May 2006 for a then club record fee of approximately £30m and scored nine league goals in 48 games.
He returned to another of his old clubs, Real Madrid, in May this year, and on the eve of that reunion Mourinho and Casillas spoke candidly about the reasons behind their differences.
