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Jose Mourinho confirmed that he had a job offer on the table to become the England manager and came incredibly close to taking charge of the national team, before turning down their advances. The former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United boss is currently out of work after being sacked by Roma and has opened up on his trophy-laden career in an interview with Red Devils icon Rio Ferdinand.
Mourinho had been heavily linked with the England position in 2007, shortly after Steve McClaren was sacked for failing to qualify for Euro 2008. He held talks with the FA over the possibility of taking over but even with a contract ready to be signed, he turned down the national team's advances.
In a clip teased on Ferdinand's social media, Mourinho explained that he "could have" coached England in the past. "I had it there on the table," he said, referring to a job contract. "I didn't (sign) because I gave everything, I gave my heart. I gave even options that could be considered not very clever by the professional point of view."
Eventually, Italian Fabio Capello was handed the job in what ended up becoming a disastrous spell for the national team and England's 'golden generation' including the likes of of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard came and went without lifting a major trophy.
It was late intervention from Mourinho's wife Matilda that stopped him from signing on the dotted line. He could have linked up with several Chelsea players once again but she convinced him to move to Inter Milan instead, where he won a famous treble.
“My wife told me not to take it and she was right," Mourinho told the Guardian in 2014. "Lampard, [John] Terry, Joe Cole, everybody, was saying, ‘Come, come, come'. My players said: ‘The guys from Manchester United and Liverpool call us and say to us: Tell your boss to come.’ I had lots of positive things to push me.”
The Portuguese coach was also asked about his time in Spain in charge of Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo. Many considered the forward to be at the peak of his powers under Mourinho, who said that he simply got out of the way of his compatriot.
"I think you don't coach," he replied when asked about working with Ronaldo. Mourinho also reflected on his time at Old Trafford and blamed the media for being perceived negatively.
"I loved my time there," Mourinho told Ferdinand when asked about his stint at United. He said: "I don't think media helped me. I refused great working opportunities. The first one was even very hard to refuse because it was Portugal. I could be their coach in the national team. Also yours (England)."
