It was perhaps the first sign of things to come: failure for Manchester United, frustration for Jose Mourinho. And this was way before the Portuguese actually went to the club. That febrile period from 2016 to 2018 is obviously going to be brought up a lot as Mourinho’s Fenerbahce take on his old club in the Europa League on Thursday, but of more interest is perhaps what happened in May 2013. And, what might have happened.
There is a lot of myth and rumour swirling around that period, when Sir Alex Ferguson retired, which is perhaps how the Portuguese prefers it. He was seen as a nearly man, the rejected, overlooked for David Moyes.
