Chelsea’s Mourinho on Man United, Sir Alex and ‘sobbing loudly’

Jose Mourinho has finally quashed reports that he broke down in tears after hearing that he had been overlooked for the coveted Manchester United job – insisting Chelsea were always his number one choice.

In September, Spanish journalist Diego Torres claimed in his book, ‘Prepare to Lose: The Mourinho era’, that the Portuguese “sobbed loudly” upon hearing that David Moyes had been selected to replace his fellow Scot at Old Trafford.

Such a claim appeared almost plausible such was the sense of inevitability that the 50-year-old would land the biggest job in British football after serving his time at illustrious European names, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

However, Mourinho, who had already played out a goalless draw with the Red Devils before the book was released, cheekily recommended that Torres take up children’s fiction as he rebuffed the claims.

“I think the person that wrote [that] book shouldn’t write books,” Mourinho said.

“He should write books for kids with his imagination.”

In reality, Mourinho was one of Ferguson’s trusted confidants in the weeks leading up to the former United manager’s public confirmation of his retirement after winning an unprecedented 13th Premier League title.

It signifies the deep bond between two managers responsible for changing the Premier League landscape – and Mourinho spoke of the pressure that he felt in keeping the 71-year-old’s secret before it became public.

“I only knew a couple of weeks before the announcement. My friend [Ferguson] was very nice to me and trusted me completely because he told me something really important before he told the press,” he said.

“He didn’t want me to read [about it] in the press. ‘You are one of my best friends in football and I want you to know from me and not read it in the media’. He was so nice to me. He gave me such a big responsibility [in] keeping that.

I am where I want to be and I want to be here. I have the job that I want to have

Jose Mourinho

“I was afraid that somebody [would] leak it and the boss could think it came from me. I was a little bit under pressure.”

Ferguson and Mourinho have always shared an amicable relationship. It stems from 2004, when the United boss congratulated the Portuguese despite his exuberant touchline celebration after Costinha’s injury-time winner, which dumped United out of the Champions League.

Their bond has grown from there despite Mourinho’s brief dominance in England before the charismatic coach left the west London club in 2007.

So how did Ferguson break the news to his close friend that Moyes – and not the Special One – was to be the Chosen One ahead of the 2013-14 season?

Well, it’s quite simple. Mourinho had his heart set on a return to Chelsea and Ferguson was armed with that knowledge before he confided his secret in the current Blues boss.

“He knew from me that I was coming back from Chelsea – just things from friends,” he said.

Asked whether he was in contact with Chelsea before his conversation with Ferguson, Mourinho clarified: “I was not committed to Chelsea but I wanted to come and Chelsea had already expressed the desire for me to come back, too.

“The door was not open, but ajar. I am where I want to be and I want to be here. I have the job that I want to have.”

Despite rumblings in the media and Torres’ book, Mourinho gives the impression of a man satisfied with his current situation and career to date.

And by his own admission, the Chelsea manager has benefited from lucky timings throughout his path in coaching.

“My career was always a very lucky career in that aspect,” he explained. “When I wanted to leave Porto, I wanted to come to England and at that time it wasn’t Chelsea because I had no emotional connection to any club.

“When I was in Porto, I had friends in Turkey and Italy, but I wanted to come to England. When I left Chelsea, I wanted Italy or Spain and nothing else. I went to Italy.

“After that, I was missing Spain and especially Real Madrid because it is the biggest club in history. After that I wanted [to return to] England and if possible Chelsea – if not Chelsea, I would be here at another club.

“When the door of my club opened for me, I had the job that I wanted to have had.”

It will have been 3,441 days since Mourinho first faced United as Chelsea boss when he aims to mastermind victory over the champions on Sunday.

And unsurprisingly, Mourinho remembers the encounter vividly, despite the countless derbies and finals since 16 August 2004.

“What do I remember? Everything,” he said.

“The team that I played, the goal, incidents, what I did the day before, what I did after the match… I remember everything.

“My strongest memory was the match was on the 15 August and the day before was my wife’s birthday and she was saying, ‘this is a fantastic country to be in’, because it was the first time in our lives that you are at home and not with the team in the hotel [ahead of a match].”

Chelsea were 1-0 winners that day at Stamford Bridge – and Mourinho will hope that the first meeting of the two title rivals in west London since his return ends in similar fashion.