Jose Mourinho reveals he was 'never close' to taking the Barcelona job in 2008 ahead of Pep Guardiola

“Never.” The words of Jose Mourinho when asked if he was close to joining Barcelona as boss in 2008. Ad/> Much has been made of the sliding doors moment in the Blaugrana's history which saw them hire then managerial novice Pep Guardiola over Mourinho. TransfersArsenal set for ‘significant’ summer investment even without Champions League — Paper RoundYESTERDAY AT 23:09 Guardiola went on to deliver an unprecedented era of success at the club, cultivating the talent of Leo Messi who helped deliver two Champions League titles — in 2009 and 2011 — in three years.

Mourinho, who had famously worked at the Camp Nou as a translator and coach in the nineties, ended up on the other side of Spain's biggest sporting divide as coach of Real Madrid. In that role, his regular match-ups with Guardiola created one of the most bitter rivalries of all time. 'Can you be Roma's Sir Alex?' Mourinho getting the love 'It got too much' — Toxic Mourinho relationship played part in Guardiola's Barca exit, says Pique “They [Barcelona] asked me to do an analysis of the situation of the team in an ugly moment, a moment of transition from the bad to the good, it was difficult," Mourinho added while speaking to Movistar+.

“The person who asked me to do it was someone high up in the club. I did it, but nothing more. «Then, fortunately for me, history took its course.” There is invariably an element of mischievousness with Mourinho, and who knows what „fortunately“ refers to.