Where are they now? 6 big name stars that Mourinho tried and failed to sign at Man Utd
Jose Mourinho has been one of football’s most influential and successful managers, but that hasn’t come without him getting his own way.
The Special One has split opinion ever since he first burst onto the scene with Porto and then Chelsea. Love him or loathe him, one thing that cannot be denied is Mourinho’s burning desire to spend money and get in players who are willing to run through brick walls for him – no matter the cost.
He was hardly shortchanged while in charge of Manchester United – at least in his first two summers – but still left the club having failed to land some of his primary targets. We’ve checked in on six of those and seen how they’ve fared since, having not joined Mourinho’s Red Devils.
Ivan Perisic
Mourinho was desperate for United to sign Perisic for him in the summer of 2017, with both him and Perisic himself confirming that a deal was in the works in the time since.
The Portuguese coach couldn’t understand why a move didn’t go through, while Perisic himself claimed in 2019 that he really wanted to go to him and play with United’. However, reports at the time suggested that the Red Devils simply refused to meet Inter’s valuation for the winger, meaning a deal never went through.
He did eventually get his move to the Premier League, reuniting with Antonio Conte at Tottenham in 2022, although the move came a little too late and Spurs never really saw the best of him. He’s now in the Netherlands with PSV.
Antoine Griezmann
After a brilliant EURO 2016, Griezmann was linked mercilessly to United. By the summer of 2017, he was operating as one of the best players in the world and had talked up a move away from Atletico Madrid himself, adding fuel to an already large, Manchester-based fire.
He then performed a massive U-turn when Atletico were slapped with a transfer ban, however, and Mourinho failed to capture the forward. He stayed put in Madrid, only to leave them for Barcelona in 2019, before returning two years later with his tail between his legs after the move didn’t work out.
Thankfully for him, a late career renaissance sees him back in the good books with fans of Los Rojiblancos.
Renato Sanches
Hot off the heels of a brilliant, breakout EURO 2016 campaign, Sanches was a wanted man all across Europe and Benfica were resigned to that fact.
Mourinho was desperate to bring his fellow countryman to United according to reports, but it was Bayern Munich who were able to strike a deal – because United didn’t appoint Mourinho in time to beat them to it that summer.
It’s hard to say Sanches made the wrong decision even if he struggled in Germany, given how turbulent United have been virtually ever since. Mourinho did manage Sanches briefly at Roma in 2023-24, but the midfielder is now back on loan at Benfica, aged 27.
Harry Maguire
The summer of 2018 was the beginning of the end for Mourinho at United. Despite signing a new deal, he wasn’t backed in the transfer market – and United not pulling the trigger on Maguire was one of the issues.
United were deterred by a lofty price tag put on the defender’s head following an impressive World Cup campaign, believed to be in excess of £50million, but then signed him the following summer for £80million anyway, completely undermining the Portuguese manager.
Maguire has endured a mixed time at United, immediately being named captain and being made the scapegoat for their limitations more often than not. However, he’s still at the club five years on and has proven he has a big role to play as a rotational asset.
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Willian
Having worked with Willian at Chelsea and keen to bolster United’s attacking options, Mourinho requested Willian in the summer of 2018 having failed to land Perisic.
A move never materialised, but the Brazilian ended up surplus to requirements anyway and swapped south London for north in 2020 when he signed for Arsenal.
The move was short-lived and after a brief return to Brazil, he enjoyed a more successful Premier League stint with Fulham, but now finds himself in Greece at Olympiacos – after yet more United transfer speculation.
Alvaro Morata
All signs pointed towards United signing Morata from Real Madrid in the summer of 2017 with the Spaniard reportedly keen on the move. However, the clubs failed to reach an agreement and Real instead sold him to Chelsea.
As a result, United instead splashed £75million on Everton’s Romelu Lukaku. While neither proved to be brilliant signings, Morata was largely poor at Chelsea and was out on loan by January 2019.
In the time since, he’s swapped between Atletico Madrid and Juventus a bizarre amount of times and now finds himself with Milan. Hopefully he stays put there.