Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has said he will "one day tell the truth" about his potential move to Barcelona that fell through in 2008.

In 2013, former Barcelona president Joan Laporta revealed that Mourinho had wanted to coach the club after leaving Chelsea.

He emerged as a possible replacement for Frank Rijkaard but instead joined Inter Milan after Barca decided Pep Guardiola was better suited to the job.

And speaking to Telefoot, he said: "Maybe one day I'll be able to reveal the truth. No, no [not today].

"These are things in my career which I prefer to keep to myself. Maybe I will reveal them one day, when I will be old, old, old. Maybe."

In 2013, Laporta said Mourinho "wanted to come to Barcelona, but it wasn't possible because we had decided to sign Guardiola as coach."

Mourinho had worked at the Camp Nou from 1996 to 2000 as part of the staff under Bobby Robson and then Louis van Gaal.

While Mourinho remained coy about Barcelona, he opened up about his departure from Real Madrid in 2013 after three years at the club.

"It was my decision. My decision," he said. "My daughter was going to study in London and at that moment, we thought it was very important to have the family united.

"For me it's very important to be happy. My best results in football came when I was happy. At that moment -- in my third year at Madrid -- I wasn't happy.

"If you win, you are a great coach. He [Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane] has won and he will continue to win. I think that he will win the title as the best coach in the world because he deserves it."

The Portuguese spoke further about his career, expressing his pride at winning the Champions League with Porto and Inter in 2004 and 2010 respectively.

"There are some magnificent things, but also some controversies. That is part of a career," he said. "Winning in Europe with a club from your country [with Porto] -- I think it's special because you go into the history of the club, but also of the country.

"Inter became something very special because it was a relation of love. The group were an old group and it was maybe the final opportunity for this generation. We won for the Moratti family and all the Interisti, giving them an incredible joy.

"I know that when I went to Madrid, it was not the right time to go there, but it was the moment I wanted to go, when Barcelona were at their strongest. I knew it was a difficult time to come to Manchester United too, but this is me."

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by ESPN Staff

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