A five-man transfer list made by Jose Mourinho has revealed the superteam he was trying to build at Manchester United.
The legendary Portuguese manager spent two years in charge of United, leading them to trophies in the Europa League and EFL Cup.
Mourinho was sacked by United on 18 December 2018, having won just seven out of the first 17 Premier League matches of the 2018/19 season.
But a leaked list shows the five transfers that Mourinho wanted to make during his final season with the Red Devils, and if they all had happened, it could have changed everything.
The biggest name on the transfer shortlist that Mourinho had hoped to pursue is undoubtedly Gareth Bale, who at the time was playing for La Liga giants Real Madrid.
At the time, Bale had been linked with a move back to the UK after falling out of favour with Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, who rarely started the Welshman.
However, after the sudden departures of both Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale had a change of heart and went on to stay with Los Blancos until 2022.
Next on Mourinho’s list was another former Tottenham Hotspur player, Toby Alderweireld, who reportedly had held talks with United about the move.
However, ultimately the deal fell through as Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy refused to entertain any offers below £75million, which was not achievable for United.
Also in defence, the Portuguese manager wanted to bring in a new left-back after losing faith in Luke Shaw, leading to Ashley Young playing the position.
Juventus’ Alex Sandro was the preferred option, but with the Italian club looking for £60m, United moved their focus to Kieran Tierney before deciding that he was not enough of an improvement on Shaw to justify a bid.
Gareth Bale made 258 appearances for Real Madrid. (Image: Getty)
Mourinho had also hoped for a reunion with Brazilian winger Willian, whom he managed during his time at Chelsea, but the deal fell apart despite a bid from United reportedly being accepted.
The final name on Mourinho’s shortlist, was Brazilian midfielder Fred, who was the top target of the 2018/19 summer transfer window.
Of course, Fred did join that summer for a fee of £52m and went on to make 213 appearances for United.
And six years after leaving United, Mourinho was reunited with the midfielder after taking the job as manager of Fred’s current club, Fenerbahce, this summer.
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