José Mourinho has revealed one of the best-kept secrets of his career: in 2013, he agreed to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager, only to tear up the plan within hours and return to Chelsea instead.
The confession, first reported in Hebrew by ONE, comes from a new three-part Netflix documentary titled 'MOURINHO', which premieres globally on August 11. Ferguson himself sat for an interview and confirmed the episode from his side.
"I go to Chelsea in 2013, but in that period, there is something nobody knows," Mourinho says in the documentary, opening up about a chapter of his career he had never publicly discussed before.
According to Ferguson's account, United had lined up Mourinho as his successor after announcing his own retirement, with the Portuguese coach having just left Real Madrid. "He got the offer, yes... then, within hours, it changed," Ferguson recalled.
The Scot described receiving an emotional phone call that same evening that upended the succession plan. "Early evening, he phoned me, and he was crying," Ferguson said, describing how Mourinho backed out of the arrangement almost as soon as it was struck.
Mourinho told Ferguson directly that he could not go through with it. "Alex, I can't take it - I've given my word to Chelsea and I'm not going to break my word," he said, according to the documentary.
Mourinho explained his thinking was driven by emotion rather than ambition, after a difficult final season at the Bernabéu. "After Real Madrid, I needed to feel loved... I made a decision with my heart," he said.
United instead turned to David Moyes, who was appointed as Ferguson's successor in the summer of 2013 and lasted less than a year in the job before being dismissed.
Mourinho's second spell at Chelsea brought the Premier League title in 2014-15, but he was sacked the following season. He eventually did take charge at Old Trafford, arriving in May 2016 to replace Louis van Gaal.
His two and a half years at Manchester United yielded the Europa League and League Cup, but ended in his dismissal in December 2018 - the job he had once agreed to take, and walked away from, three years earlier.
The Netflix documentary also features interviews with John Terry, Frank Lampard, Iker Casillas, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o, Javier Zanetti and Petr Čech, charting Mourinho's career from Porto to Roma.
