JOSE MOURINHO: I Told Ferguson I Wanted To Go To Chelsea

With David Moyes enduring a miserable season and Champions League qualification looking all but impossible, talk has naturally turned to other coaches who could have taken up the Old Trafford hotseat, among them José Mourinho.

The ever-controversial Portuguese manager has claimed that he discussed his future with Alex Ferguson before the choice had been made to appoint then Everton boss Moyes:

"I spoke with Sir Alex when my Real Madrid team knocked United out of the Champions League last season and I told him what I wanted to do - that Chelsea is what I wanted. That was the direction I wanted to go", he stated.


"Everyone knew Benitez was not going to stay, everyone knew my relationship with the club and it was an opportunity I didn't want to lose. So I don't know if Sir Alex thought of me for United or not - that's not the point. The point is he knew clearly that I wanted to go to Chelsea", Mou added.

Pep Guardiola, who has wrapped up the Bundesliga title in record time in his debut season with Bayern and is eyeing a historic unbeaten league campaign, is believed to have been Alex Ferguson's first choice to take over at Old Trafford. Current Real Madrid supremo Carlo Ancelotti was also heavily linked with the post.