After years of speculation, Jose Mourinho has confirmed that he agreed to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013, before changing his mind and re-joining Chelsea instead.

“When I left Real Madrid, I signed to go to Manchester United after Sir Alex,” the 63-year-old coach – now back at Real for a second spell – said in a new Netflix documentary series about his career.

“He was offered the job, yes,” confirmed Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles over 26 years at Old Trafford before retiring in 2013.

“I sat him down and explained the situation,” he added: “As far as I was concerned, he was accepting. And then, within hours, it changed.”

What changed was that Mourinho felt he could not turn down a return to Chelsea, where he had won consecutive Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006.

“One night, he phoned me and he was crying and he says, ‘Alex, I can’t take it. I’ve given my word to Chelsea and I’m not going to break my word’,” said the former United boss.

“The reason he gave to me, I could understand, but I was disappointed.”

Mourinho said he was “very flattered” to be offered the job of replacing Ferguson “because Manchester United has an incredible appeal”.

“But one thing is love for football, another thing is love for a certain club,” he explained.

“I think this is more powerful than love for football and fundamentally, after Real Madrid, I needed to feel that I’m loved.

“For me to lose the chance to be the coach to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson was dramatic, but I don’t regret (it) because it was a decision that I made with my heart.”

After returning to Stamford Bridge in 2013, Mourinho went on to win his third Premier League title as well as the League Cup.

In May 2016, he got a second chance to take over at United, succeeding Louis van Gaal.

Over a two-and-a-half year spell at Old Trafford, Mourinho won League Cup and Europa League titles before being sacked in December 2018 following a slump in results.

He returned to another of his old clubs, Real Madrid, in May this year. Mourinho’s last spell there ended in acrimony as he fell out with club captain Iker Casillas and other players.

On the eve of his Real reunion, the combative manager and former Spain goalkeeper Casillas spoke candidly about the reasons behind those differences.

Mourinho also spoke about difficulties he has faced with former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who hired him twice and sacked him both times.

Another week, another PGA Tour winner in their early twenties: Michael Brennan, 24, won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday by three shots to cap off the tour’s regular season and earn his way into post-season play.

He is the third consecutive champion under the age of 25, following 21-year-old Jackson Koivun’s win at the 3M Open and 24-year-old Michael Thorbjornsen’s triumph at the 3M Open.

With the victory, Brennan surged from outside the top 100 to No. 47 in the FedEx Cup standings — well inside the top-70 threshold to qualify for the playoffs, which begin next week.

“It’s everything,” Brennan said of the win and his playoff berth. “I don’t want to be done playing golf; I feel like I’ve played the best golf I have all year in the last couple weeks. Unfortunately, a couple tough Sundays, but outside of that, I’ve been playing really, really solid. This is my sixth week (playing) in a row, so seven is a lot, but I think I’m going to be perfectly happy to be running on fumes next week.”

Brennan, 24, claimed his second PGA Tour victory at Sedgefield Country Club, a venue less than 30 miles away from his alma mater, Wake Forest University. He started Sunday’s round tied for the lead with Beau Hossler before making five birdies in a row on his front nine to pull away. One of those birdies came after a near-ace on the 211-yard par-3 7th. Brennan hit his tee shot to 6 inches.

The nerves kicked in on Brennan’s back nine as he held a three-shot lead over Hossler headed into his final four holes. But he scraped together pars after wayward tee shots on No. 15 and No. 17, fending off a late charge from Hossler, who birdied the 17th. Hossler, projected outside of that coveted top-70 at the time of the group’s penultimate hole, needed a win to extend his season. Brennan needed a three-way tie for second place, or better, according to the PGA Tour’s projections.

On No. 18, with a two-shot lead, Brennan striped his tee shot down the middle and stuck his approach to 13 feet. He sank the putt and unleashed a passionate fist bump with his parents watching nearby. As Hossler finished his hole, Brennan put his arm around his caddie, Olly Brett, whom he hired away from LPGA Tour winner Rose Zhang early this year.

Brennan burst onto the tour in 2025 when he won in his first career start playing as a sponsor’s exemption at the Bank of Utah Championship. His game began to trend in recent weeks, with a T24 finish at the 3M Open and a T15 at the Rocket Classic, thanks to two specific tweaks. Working alongside his lifelong swing coach, Adam Harrell, Brennan shortened his backswing with his driver and focused specifically on his tempo with the putter. He ranked No. 3 in the field in strokes gained driving and No. 2 in the field in strokes gained putting at Sedgefield. Now a multiple-time winner on tour, Brennan can ride that momentum into the postseason, which begins with the FedEx Cup St. Jude Championship next week.

As Brennan closed out the win, an anxious Koivun waited in the clubhouse to watch his own postseason fate unfold after signing his scorecard for a tournament total of 8-under par, putting him in a tie for 29th place. After Brennan sank his final putt, it became official: Koivun made the playoffs on the number, ranked at No. 70 at the conclusion of the week.