Jose Mourinho claims to have been in line to become England manager in 2007

Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho was reportedly set to become England manager in 2007, but his wife told him to turn down the job offer from the Football Association.

Mourinho was out of a job after he parted ways with Chelsea during his first stint at the club in September 2007 and a clause in his contract meant he was unable to take up another job for a club in the Premier League.

Mourinho was offered the opportunity to succeed Steve McClaren, who was sacked after an ill-fated tenure in charge of the national side in which he failed to qualify for Euro 2008.

The Chelsea manager, who confirmed his interest in signing Cesc Fabregas recently, revealed that he was on the verge of putting pen-to-paper, before his wife Matile advised him that he would miss the day-to-day feel of managing a club.

Mourinho told reporters he has no regrets, but admits he came very close to taking the job.

He said: ‘How close was I to taking it?’ he said, picking up a pen, pulling a pad of paper towards him and hovering over an imaginary line.

‘This close. I was almost — almost, almost, almost — England manager at that time. But it was the right decision. My wife was right. She told me not to take it. We are not speaking about the job today, we are talking about seven years ago.

‘I cannot wait two years for a big competition. I cannot be spending two years playing against Kazakhstan and San Marino. It’s not for me. In the end, my wife was saying, “No football, no matches is not for you”.

Chelsea created 506 chances this season in the Premier League compared to 442 the previous campaign.