5 greatest bargain signings by Jose Mourinho

#3 Wesley Sneijder - Real Madrid to Inter Milan (2009)

Wesley Sneijder was incredible during the 2009-10 campaign for Inter Milan.

When Jose Mourinho signed Wesley Sneijder, he was a wounded animal waiting to be unleashed.

Real Madrid were in the mood for Galactico signings in the summer of 2009 and notably brought in Ballon d'Or winner Kaka. The competition for places at the club increased and Sneijder found himself in a strange situation.

He was eventually shown the door and Mourinho gladly welcomed him to Inter Milan for a decent sum of €15m. The Dutchman became the catalyst for the Italian club's attack, pulling the strings from midfield and allowing the likes of Samuel Eto'o and Diego Milito to thrive.

The Nerrazurri attacked majorly on the counters and Sneijder was the focal point of it all. He played extremely well-weighted passes to release players, while also stitching play carefully with one-twos and his impressive creativity.

The Netherlands international was so important that Mourinho's side only lost two games in Serie A in the 2009-10 campaign and both were in his absence. From being abandoned for Kaka to finishing fourth in the list for the Ballon d'Or 2010, the midfielder really turned his career on its head.

In fact, most people argued that the 2010 FIFA World Cup finalist with Netherlands and continental treble winner with Inter deserved the award that year.

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#2 Ashley Cole - Arsenal to Chelsea (2006)

Ashley Cole remains one of the greatest full-backs in the history of the game.

Arguably the best left-back of the Premier League era, Ashley Cole signed for Mourinho's Chelsea from Arsenal in a deal worth €7.4m in 2006. The move also saw William Gallas move the other way.

The England international joined the Blues at the peak of his powers when he was almost always in a rich vein of form.

Mourinho was in charge for only two years after he brought the Arsenal full-back to Chelsea and was sacked in 2008. However, Cole served the club with complete dedication and commitment for eight long years. He made 338 appearances for the Blues and contributed seven goals and 38 assists.

The left-back managed to win the Premier League once in 2010 under Carlo Ancelotti. He also won four FA Cups, the Champions League and the Europa League before leaving for Roma in 2014.

Interestingly, when Mourinho returned for his second spell with Chelsea, Cole was still going strong at the west London club.

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#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - PSG to Manchester United (2016)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of Manchester United's better signings in recent years.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic completed a move as a free agent for the first time in his career when he joined Manchester United due to Mourinho's presence at the helm. The two had established a great relationship at Inter Milan even though they worked only for a year together.

The super Swede hit the ground running at Old Trafford almost immediately after arriving in 2016. He scored in his first game for the club, an FA Community Shield game against Leicester City which they won 2-1.

Ibrahimovic then scored on his Premier League debut and ended that season with 28 goals in 46 appearances across all competitions.

Ibrahimovic scored 17 times in the 2016-17 Premier League campaign, making him the oldest striker to score 15 goals in a single English top-flight season.

Interestingly, when Mourinho won the Champions League in 2010, the Swede had already left the club. However, this time the two were able to lift a piece of European silverware together during their stint at Old Trafford.

The Swede was injured and out of the squad for the semi-finals and the final but he did get a UEFA Europa League winners' medal. It was his first major European honor and remains Manchester United's most recent piece of silverware.