• Premier League

Mourinho heard 'sobbing' after United snub

A new book being published in Spain this week claims Jose Mourinho burst into tears when he heard David Moyes was to replace Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager.

The revelation is included in Preparense Para Perder - which translates to 'Get Ready to Lose' - by El Pais' Real Madrid correspondent Diego Torres - who is known in Spain for being highly critical of Mourinho, Los Blancos' president Florentino Perez and Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes.

Torres claims in his new book that the now Chelsea manager was very keen on replacing Ferguson at Old Trafford, and thought that his close relationship with the Scot - as well as the former Aberdeen boss' regular dealings with Mendes - meant he was in prime position for the job.

According to an extract published in El Pais, Mourinho was very emotional when the news broke on May 8 that Ferguson had chosen Moyes as his successor.

"Jose Mourinho did not stop calling [sports agency Gestifute] employees," Torres claims. "Those he was talking to, could hear him noisily sobbing and word spread. The most feared man in the company was crushed."

Torres writes that Mendes had worked harder than any other agent in trying to ensure Mourinho got the United job, while it was also thought around Gestifute - the book says - that the agency's close relationship with the English club through recent years would be an advantage.

But Ferguson and senior United figures, including Sir Bobby Charlton, were unsure about Mourinho's turbulent style, and preferred to go for Moyes. When he heard the former Everton boss had beaten him to the job, Mourinho apparently shouted: "But he's won nothing!"

Torres says Mourinho blamed his failure to get the United job on the "disloyal" behaviour of the Madrid players he had long fallen out with - the boss snubbed his own team ahead of their game against Malaga that night, which was won 6-2 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

Tuesday's extract also claims that a Gestifute employee "leaked" a story to the press the following day, May 9, saying Mourinho preferred to take the Chelsea job as his wife wanted to live in London.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese soon told interviewers that he and Ferguson had previously discussed their futures, but he himself had always been set on returning to Stamford Bridge.

Download ESPN's new UK sport app, a fresh and powerful new way to follow your favourite UK sports news, scores and video.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd