Former Real Madrid and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho recently revealed that he once got the opportunity to manage the Portugal national team but turned down the offer. The legendary manager, who is currently out of a job after being sacked by Roma last month, appeared in a recent episode of Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube podcast FIVE. During the conversation, Mourinho spoke about his earlier job offers when he reminisced about the exciting opportunity to become the coach of Portugal. According to Mourinho, he was in charge of Manchester United back then and his commitments to the Premier League club did not let him agree to the national team’s offer. If he had taken the Portugal job, it would have let him work with Cristiano Ronaldo for the second time in his career.
“I loved my time there. I don't think the media helped me. I refused great working opportunities, the first one was very, very hard to refuse because it was Portugal. I could've been their coach in the national team," Mourinho revealed during the interaction with legendary English defender Rio Ferdinand.
Jose Mourinho further claimed that he had also received an offer to manage England before Fabio Capello was assigned to the role in December 2007. It came following the Three Lions failing to qualify for the 2008 European Championships.
Then, Jose Mourinho had already established his stature as one of the most promising managers in the Premier League. Under his guidance, Chelsea became the champions of England in two consecutive seasons– 2004-05 and 2005-06.
“I could have been the coach of their [England’s] national team. I had it there on the table. Because I always had national team jobs as something I wouldn’t enjoy. It was in 2007-08 and Mr. Capello got the job," Mourinho recalled.
Jose Mourinho returned to England as Chelsea manager once again in 2013. Later, he went on to handle managerial duties at Manchester United as well. Mourinho remained the manager of Manchester United till December 2018. He was recently shown the exit door by Roma after the Italian side suffered a 3-1 loss to AC Milan. The defeat left Roma at the ninth spot in the Serie A standings.
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