Sir Alex-Mourinho relationship: Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho have been fierce competitors on the field, but share a warm friendship off it.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho shared a healthy rivalry on the pitch. The two managers first met in the Champions League tie between Manchester United and FC Porto, where Mourinho’s side registered a shocking upset.
The rivalry resumed when Mourinho came to Stamford Bridge, where he spent three years, winning two Premier League titles.
During his time at Stamford Bridge, the mutual respect between Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson grew, and the managers shared a healthy relationship off the field.
However, the recent claims made by respected Spanish football journalist Diego Torres in his book, “Prepare to Lose: the Mourinho Era” reveal that the relationship between both the figures took a hit after Sir Alex retired in 2013.
Sir Alex-Mourinho relationship:
The former Manchester United manager retired in 2013 after 26 years at the club, winning 38 trophies. David Moyes was chosen as the next manager of the club after impressive record at Everton.
Moyes, however, couldn’t complete a season before being sacked from the job after a disappointing performance, which saw Manchester United finish 7th in the league.
Diego Torres has now revealed that the appointment of Moyes ‘provoked an earthquake’ in the relationship between Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson. The Portuguese manager felt betrayed by Sir Alex, as he chose Moyes over him.
“Mourinho thought that Ferguson was, besides his ally, also his friend and godfather,” Torres wrote in his book. “He was convinced that they were tied by a relationship of genuine trust.”
Torres writes that Mourinho was left in ‘disbelief’ after he found out about Moyes becoming the Manchester United manager.
“He thought that his fabulous collection of titles constituted an ‘endorsement’ unreachable to any other contenders. When he knew that Ferguson had chosen Moyes, the Everton coach, he was struck by a terrible disbelief.”
Torres claimed that the time was the ‘most unfortunate’ for Mourinho as Real Madrid coach.
“He endured them between dozing and waking, glued to his mobile phone in search of clarifications, on the night of the 7th and the morning of the 8th of May, tucked into the Sheraton Mirasierra hotel,” he wrote.
The journalist also wrote that Mourinho was “in tears” waiting for Sir Alex Ferguson’s call to explain his decision.
