Mourinho: I agreed to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013

José Mourinho has disclosed that he agreed to become manchester United manager after Sir Alex Ferguson’s 2013 retirement but withdrew from the arrangement and rejoined Chelsea instead, a sequence the former United manager confirmed in the same documentary.

What Mourinho and Ferguson said

The revelation comes from Mourinho’s new Netflix documentary, released in early August, in which the Portuguese manager says he “signed with Manchester United to go to Manchester United after Sir Alex” when he left Real Madrid in 2013. Multiple outlets report Mourinho describes the choice to return to Chelsea as an emotional one: he said he needed to feel loved and could not break his word to Chelsea.

Sir Alex Ferguson appears to corroborate that a move was on the table. He told documentary-makers that Mourinho “was offered the job” and that after discussions Mourinho seemed to accept. Ferguson said that within hours Mourinho rang him in tears to say he could not take the post because he had given his word to Chelsea.

How this changes the accepted timeline at Old Trafford

Until these accounts, public understanding held that David Moyes was Ferguson’s hand-picked successor after the 26-year reign at Old Trafford. The new testimony from Mourinho and Ferguson establishes that United had also held substantive talks with Mourinho and that he had at least initially agreed to succeed Ferguson before the decision was reversed.

The reversal cleared the way for Moyes’s appointment; Moyes was sacked within his first season. Mourinho later joined United in 2016, succeeding Louis van Gaal, and remained in charge until December 2018.

Why it matters

• The disclosure sheds fresh light on Manchester United’s post‑Ferguson transition. United have not won a Premier League title since Ferguson’s departure, and analysts point to managerial instability in the years that followed as a major factor in that prolonged drought; the documentary provides new detail on the opening act of that period.
• For Mourinho’s career narrative, the episode explains why a manager who later took charge at Old Trafford did not make that move at the earliest opportunity. He returned to Chelsea and won the Premier League in 2014–15 before eventually accepting the United job three years after Ferguson left.
• The account is notable because it involves mutually consistent recollections from both Mourinho and Ferguson, rather than being a single‑sided claim or anonymous leak.

Confirmed facts and what remains unproven

• Confirmed from the documentary: Mourinho says he had signed to take over at Manchester United after leaving Real Madrid in 2013 and subsequently withdrew; Ferguson confirms Mourinho was offered the job and that Mourinho later withdrew, citing a promise to Chelsea. (Sources: BBC, Telegraph, Goal, Yahoo/Sports.)
• Not confirmed by independent documents in the public evidence packet: the exact legal form of any contract Mourinho says he signed, the timing down to the hour of approaches and calls, and private communications beyond the documentary excerpts. The sources report the same core claim but do not reproduce the original contract or formal club statements from 2013.

Timeline: key dates and moves (as reported)

1. 2013 — Sir Alex Ferguson announces retirement after 26 years at Manchester United.
2. Summer 2013 — According to Mourinho, he signed to succeed Ferguson after leaving Real Madrid; Ferguson confirms Mourinho was offered the job and that Mourinho initially accepted.
3. Within hours/days in 2013 — Mourinho says he withdrew and rejoined Chelsea, telling Ferguson he could not break his word to Chelsea.
4. 2013–14, 2014–15 — Mourinho leads Chelsea in his second spell, winning the Premier League in 2014–15 (reported background fact in the documentary coverage).
5. 2016 — Mourinho is appointed Manchester United manager, succeeding Louis van Gaal; he wins the League Cup and Europa League during his time at Old Trafford before leaving in December 2018.

Context and implications for Manchester United and supporters

Manchester United supporters and football historians often debate the succession that followed Ferguson. The documentary’s account does not alter the record of who managed United after Ferguson — Moyes was appointed and later removed — but it does add a new chapter to the behind‑the‑scenes story: United’s process included discussions with Mourinho, and the club was, according to Ferguson, prepared to appoint him.

For United, the episode will renew discussion about recruitment and succession planning at executive level in 2013, and whether an alternate appointment might have delivered a different trajectory. Any judgement on counterfactual outcomes remains speculative; the evidence confirms only that Mourinho was in line for the role and then withdrew.

What comes next

The revelation is part of a wider documentary that has prompted renewed media coverage of Mourinho’s career choices. No new official statements from Manchester United or Chelsea are included in the evidence packet. Observers seeking verification beyond the film would need access to club records or contemporaneous contract documents; none are supplied among the sources provided here.

For G3.Football readers following United’s long‑running evolution since Ferguson, the documentary adds a confirmed first‑hand account from two principal figures. It is a reminder that succession at top clubs often hinges on personal factors as much as boardroom decisions.

Key takeaway

José Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson have both said in a new documentary that Mourinho agreed to succeed Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013 but then withdrew to honour his commitment to Chelsea. Those on‑camera accounts are the principal evidence for this story; the documentary is the source of the revelation and no contemporaneous contract or club statement was released with the report.