Jose Mourinho reveals Ed Woodward text upon taking Spurs job
New Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has revealed he received good luck messages from Ed Woodward and other members of the Manchester United hierarchy.
The Portuguese tactician had been out of work since being sacked by the Red Devils in December 2018 but became Mauricio Pochettino’s replacement at Tottenham on Wednesday.
Do Woodward and Mourinho still get on? Five things to know…
- Mourinho won two major honours with Man Utd between 2016 and 2018.
- But after falling 19 points behind then-league leaders Liverpool, he was sacked in December.
- The Portuguese tactician has been working as a pundit since.
- But after the shock sacking of Pochettino, Mourinho is now the new Tottenham manager.
- He says United vice-chairman Woodward was among a number of well wishers from his old club.
And despite United vice-chairman Woodward pulling the trigger on Mourinho after falling 19 points behind then-Premier League leaders Liverpool, he is one of a number of Red Devils officials to have wished their former manager well in his new job.
“I received messages from everybody, everywhere (from my former clubs),” Mourinho told Sky Sports.
“Maybe I get the opportunity to apologise for not answering 500 of them that I couldn’t answer. I have 700 but only had time to answer 200.
Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel here.
“But it was curious to see, from my last club, so many people showing me that respect, empathy and feeling. It was nice.
“All of them were special. The first one was from (United managing director) Richard Arnold. The third, fourth or fifth was Ed Woodward. And they were my bosses.”
Mourinho: Levy relationship an important factor
Despite Woodward sacking Mourinho, the pair were known to have a positive relationship during their time together at Old Trafford.
As such, Mourinho believes the same will apply to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and says his “vision” for the club was an important factor behind his decision.
“Yes, I think we will get on well,” he said. “He explained to me the vision for the club and I embraced that. It was one of the most important reasons I accepted. So when I did that, it’s a very good start.”
Mourinho’s first game as Tottenham manager is away to West Ham United on Saturday.
