Mourinho reveals reason for rejecting Manchester United offer nearly a decade ago

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Real Madrid coach, Jose Mourinho, has revealed that he agreed to become Manchester United manager in 2013 before changing his mind and returning to Chelsea instead.

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Mourinho said he had accepted the opportunity to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson after leaving Real Madrid, but ultimately chose to follow his heart and return to Stamford Bridge.

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“When I left Real Madrid, I signed to go to Manchester United after Sir Alex,” Mourinho said in a new Netflix documentary series about his career as reported by BBC Sport on Monday.

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Ferguson confirmed that Mourinho had been offered the job and initially appeared ready to accept it.

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“I sat him down and explained the situation,” Ferguson said. “As far as I was concerned, he was accepting. And then, within hours, it changed.”

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Mourinho explained that he felt unable to turn down Chelsea, where he had previously won two Premier League titles.

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“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’,” Ferguson recalled.

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“The reason he gave to me, I could understand, but I was disappointed.”

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Mourinho said he was “very flattered” by the prospect of replacing Ferguson at Old Trafford because of Manchester United’s huge appeal.

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“But one thing is love for football, another thing is love for a certain club,” he said.

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“I think this is more powerful than love for football and fundamentally, after Real Madrid, I needed to feel that I’m loved.

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“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.”

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Mourinho returned to Chelsea in 2013 and went on to win his third Premier League title with the club, along with the League Cup.

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Three years later, he finally took charge of Manchester United, succeeding Louis van Gaal in 2016.

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During his two-and-a-half-year spell at Old Trafford, Mourinho won the League Cup and Europa League before being dismissed in December 2018 following a poor run of results.

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The revelation adds another intriguing chapter to the story of Ferguson’s succession at Manchester United and raises the question of how differently the club’s post-Ferguson era might have unfolded had Mourinho taken the job in 2013.

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