José Mourinho may have managed some of the biggest clubs in the world like Real Madrid, but he has always held a fascination about Manchester United right from his first spell at Chelsea. It may probably be down to the longevity that United seemed to provide to their managers. Sir Alex Ferguson spent almost 3 decades at the helm of United, but those days of longevity seem long gone at the club after they have gone through two managers in the last three years. However, latest revelations from Daily Mail claim that Mourinho could have become United boss just after Ferguson in 2013.
The British tabloid reveals that a secret meeting took place between Chief Executive Ed Woodward and Mourinho just outside the Vicente Calderon before a game between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Back then, Mourinho already knew that his time was up at the Santiago Bernabeu and he had begun talks with Chelsea. There were a lot of rumours about a potential return to Stamford Bridge, but nothing was confirmed until the summer. Mourinho reportedly confirmed the same to Woodward in that secret meeting.
There is every possibility that Mourinho may have done down an emotional reunion with Chelsea in favour of succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. The revelation, though, is a direct contrary to the story by Diego Torres while it also conflicts the statements given by Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton about Mourinho fitting in at Old Trafford.
Diego Torres came up with the book on the Portuguese manager, The Special One: The Dark Side of José Mourinho, and it reveals that Mourinho was deeply upset upon learning that David Moyes had been chosen by Ferguson himself as his successor. Mourinho reportedly felt that his much better track record at winning trophies placed him as an obvious choice over Moyes, who had done little about from one top four finish with Everton. His book read:
“[Mourinho] thought that his fabulous collection of titles constituted an ‘endorsement’ unreachable to any other contenders. When he knew that Ferguson had chosen Moyes, the Everton coach, he was struck by a terrible disbelief. Moyes hadn’t won absolutely anything!”
Bobby Charlton’s opinion about Mourinho, when he was rumoured to take over at United, seemed to back up Torres’ revelation. Charlton claimed that Mourinho may have won numerous trophies, but he felt that Mourinho did not have the character to manage a club like United. He said:
“A United manager wouldn’t do that, Mourinho is a really good coach but that’s as far as I would go really.”
His comments came just after Mourinho was criticised heavily for poking then-Barcelona assistant manager Tito Vilanova in the eye. Charlton also claimed that Ferguson did not hold Mourinho with a great opinion when it comes to be his successor.
Now with all the discussions put into history, Mourinho is in charge of United and has set his sights on the Premier League title. United have not won the league since Ferguson’s final season.
