Why I turned down Man United job in 2013 – Mourinho

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.

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.

“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.

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

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.”

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

“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.

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

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

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

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

“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.”

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

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

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.

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.