Mourinho's Regret: The Manchester United Opportunity
Jose Mourinho has revealed he once shook hands on the biggest job in English football – then walked away.
In a new Netflix documentary on his career, Mourinho confirms he agreed to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United after leaving Real Madrid, only to reverse course and return to Chelsea instead.
Mourinho: “I signed to go to Manchester United”
“When I left Real Madrid, I signed to go to Manchester United after Sir Alex,” Mourinho says in the series, lifting the lid on a saga that has hovered over Old Trafford folklore for more than a decade.
Ferguson, who retired in 2013 after 26 years and 13 Premier League titles, had already identified his heir. He recommended then Everton manager David Moyes as his successor, a choice that would see Moyes unveiled at Old Trafford beneath a banner declaring him “The Chosen One”.
But behind the scenes, Ferguson believed Mourinho was on his way.
“I sat him down and explained the situation,” Ferguson recalls. “As far as I was concerned, he was accepting. And then, within hours, it changed.”
The deal, Mourinho now confirms, had been agreed. The twist came when his past – and his emotions – pulled him back towards Stamford Bridge.
A phone call in tears
What changed? Chelsea called.
Mourinho, who had delivered back-to-back Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006 in his first spell at the club, decided he could not turn down the chance to go back.
Ferguson describes the moment it all unravelled.
“One night, he phoned me and he was crying,” the former United manager says. “He said: ‘Alex, I can't take it. I've given my word to Chelsea and I'm not going to break my word.’
“The reason he gave to me I could understand, but I was disappointed.”
For United, the baton passed to Moyes. For Mourinho, it was a return to familiar blue.
Heart over history
Mourinho admits the pull of Old Trafford was immense.
He says he was “very flattered” to be offered the chance to replace Ferguson “because Manchester United has an incredible appeal”.
But he draws a sharp line between the game and the bond he felt with Chelsea.
“One thing is love for football, another thing is love for a certain club,” he explains. “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.”
The decision reshaped careers. Mourinho went back to Stamford Bridge in 2013 and promptly added a third Premier League title and a League Cup to his record. Moyes, thrust into the impossible task of following Ferguson, lasted just 10 months before being sacked.
Old Trafford, second time around
The story between Mourinho and United did not end there.
In 2016, after the brief Louis van Gaal era, United came calling again. This time, Mourinho accepted.
Across two and a half turbulent years at Old Trafford, he delivered the League Cup and the Europa League, adding European silverware to the post-Ferguson era, before being dismissed in December 2018 after a sharp downturn in results.
The Netflix revelation fills in a missing chapter: the moment when United’s succession plan almost followed the obvious script, only for Mourinho’s loyalty to Chelsea – and his need to feel “loved” – to send English football history down a very different path.
