Mourinho: I Turned Down Manchester United in 2013 for Chelsea

In a new Netflix documentary series chronicling his managerial career, Jose Mourinho disclosed that he accepted an offer to manage Manchester United in 2013 before ultimately choosing to rejoin Chelsea instead. The Portuguese coach provided details about this pivotal decision, one of the most consequential moments in his professional journey.

After leaving Real Madrid, Mourinho received an approach from Manchester United to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson, whose retirement was announced following the 2012-13 season. He accepted the offer initially, yet despite the prestige of Old Trafford, Mourinho decided to honour his emotional bond with Chelsea and return to Stamford Bridge.

Sir Alex Ferguson later confirmed the conversation occurred and that Mourinho had initially agreed to the arrangement. The same documentary also saw Mourinho address a significant controversy from his earlier time at Chelsea.

He revisited the 2015 incident involving former doctor Eva Carneiro, which followed a Premier League fixture against Swansea City. During that match, Carneiro and physiotherapist Jon Fearn took to the pitch to attend to player Eden Hazard.

In the documentary, Mourinho asserted that Carneiro's gender had no bearing whatsoever on how he reacted to the incident, which eventually resulted in her departure from the club. The series—titled "Mourinho"—represents a significant moment of retrospection for the former Manchester United boss, shedding light on critical junctures and choices that have shaped his career across Europe's leading football institutions.

Ferguson's corroboration of the 2013 Manchester United proposal strengthens Mourinho's recounting of that episode.