My wife talked me out of England job, says Mourinho

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho claimed his wife persuaded him not to take charge of the England national team in 2007.

Mourinho’s first spell at Chelsea ended shortly before Steve McClaren paid the price for England’s failure to qualify for the 2008 European Championships.

Fabio Capello was subsequently appointed as McClaren’s successor, yet Mourinho admitted he was tempted to take on the role, particularly as the terms of his exit from Chelsea dictated that he was unable to take over another Premier League club for two years.

Speaking in his role as a World Cup ambassador for Yahoo, Mourinho said: “At that time I could not get an English club because of my contract when I left Chelsea… I couldn’t get an English club in the next two years. I could get the national team but not a club.

“Lampard, Terry, Joe Cole, everybody was saying, ‘Come, come, come’.

“My players said, ‘The guys from Manchester United and Liverpool call us and say to us: Tell your boss to come.’

“I had lots of positive things to push me, (but) my wife told me not to take it and she was right.

“It was the right decision. We are talking about seven years ago and I cannot wait two years for a big competition. I cannot be spending two years playing against Kazakhstan and San Marino.

“What would I do during the week? I could go to see the players training with their teams, I ask for permission to spend time with them and to have individual coaching with them, I have to work with them, I can improve things.

“I’m not going to stay at home, I have to travel, I want to see the players, I want to participate in their evolution, blah, blah, blah, blah. But in the end my wife was saying: ‘No football, no matches, is not good for you.’

“And she was right. It was not the job for me seven years ago, it’s not the job for me now and I don’t think it will be the job for me in seven years’ time. Maybe in 15 years from now but not seven.”

Mourinho went on to coach Inter and Real Madrid before returning to Chelsea last year.