Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has revealed that Manchester United manager wanted to manage Liverpool before he became Chelsea manager in 2004
Jose Mourinho’s appointment as Chelsea manager heralded the dawn of a new age in the Premier League as the Portuguese augmented the Blues’ reign of being regulars among the top 4 teams in England. Mourinho won successive league titles in his first two seasons with the club before leaving the Londoners for a move abroad.
Much has happened since, and the Portuguese has established himself as one of the most successful managers of the Premier League era and is now the manager of Manchester United. However, according to former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy, the Portuguese could have ended up at Liverpool before taking the Chelsea job.
There was some speculation that Jose Mourinho wanted and even had talks in relation to taking over as the Liverpool manager, but was ultimately trumped by Rafa Benitez, whom the Reds chose to appoint. And Danny Murphy seems to have stated the same as he talked to TalkSport.
Murphy said,“ When Benitez was appointed at Liverpool, it was between him and Mourinho. I know that for a fact. Mourinho wanted the Liverpool job massively. But Liverpool basically went with Benitez, because he’d just won the Spanish league title and UEFA Cup with Valencia and they thought that was more solid an appointment than someone who had only done it, and that time, in Portugal.”
The former Liverpool midfielder also revealed that Mourinho was gutted at the time to have missed out on the opportunity of managing Liverpool and also joked of the fact that he too was disappointed as he ended up being benched. Murhpy was sparsely used by Rafa Benitez, a situation which could have been different had Mourinho been appointed at the helm at Anfield.
Chelsea fans will not be complaining though, as Liverpool’s rejection of the Portuguese ended up being the Blues’ gain as Mourinho went on to win 3 titles over two managerial spells at Stamford Bridge, while also stamping his authority and image in the heart of majority Chelsea fans.
