“I knew it was one in 1000 chance” – Club president recalls attempt to get Mourinho before Tottenham move

Before returning to Premier League football with Tottenham, José Mourinho spent the best part of a year without a job.

During that time period, there is little doubt that he was a highly solicited individual, likely receiving offers left, right and centre before eventually deciding on taking over from Mauricio Pochettino in north London.

There have been many rumours, yet few were ever confirmed, except that of Lyon approaching him, as Jean-Michel Aulas revealed an attempt back in October.

With the cat now out of the bag, the French club’s president expanded a bit on what happened during his appearance as a guest on beIN Sports in France, relayed by Le10 Sport.

He said: “The manager I would have liked? Mourinho (…) I knew that it wouldn’t be possible, but you know, I called Mourinho at the time. I knew it was a one in 1000 chance, but we wanted to try. We looked at everything.”

What’s the saying? You can’t win the raffle if you don’t buy a ticket? Well, that’s what Aulas with his audacious attempt to get the Portuguese manager to get his club back on track.

Rudi Garcia was eventually appointed as Sylvinho’s successor, getting five wins, one draw and three losses in his first nine games in charge.