Jose Mourinho might now have a conflicted relationship with the Blues fans, but Chelsea fans will forever remember his impact at the club and just how he led the club to its first ever Premier League title, with two more afterwards in his two stints at the club.
Along with the money of billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, Jose Mourinho turned Chelsea to a top European powerhouse, but a new book, ‘Mourinho: Behind the Special One, from the origin to the glory,’ written by French journalist Nicolas Vilas, details just how close Mourinho came to joining Chelsea rivals Liverpool, before Roman Abramovich’s intervention.
“Mourinho should have gone to Liverpool. Rick Parry [then chief executive] was in charge of transfers and we had an agreement. They asked us to wait for 15 days as Houllier was still the Reds’ manager,” Jorge Baidek, the Special One’s former adviser, recalled.
Back in April 2004, Jorge Baidek, Mourinho’s adviser at the time, held a meeting at Porto’s hotel which was supposed to seal the fate of the Portuguese, but Liverpool were mindful of not disrespecting Houllier, who had lost his way after a trophy-laden start to his Anfield tenure.
Abramovich then swooped in and signed the young Portuguese manager, and Liverpool eventually settled on Rafa Benitez as Houllier’s successor following Mourinho’s snub