Many now believe Mourinho’s influence would have been stronger had he taken over immediately after Ferguson.
His self-belief and force of personality suggest he would have embraced the challenge, convinced he could raise the bar.
Where Moyes hesitated in the transfer market, it’s hard to imagine Mourinho showing the same reluctance to get deals done.
Sources insist the already-arranged move for Thiago Alcântara from Barcelona would have been completed.
They also argue United would have avoided the Fellaini saga—paying £27.5m on deadline day after missing the chance to activate a cheaper release clause.
Some even claim Fellaini wouldn’t have been signed at all.
Mourinho had already shared his assessments on several targets, including Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi.
Beyond new signings, many feel he would have drawn more from the experienced players he inherited.
It’s widely accepted Ferguson squeezed everything from his final title-winning squad, who overachieved—making the dramatic, unexpected drop to seventh even more striking.
Even the players have struggled to pinpoint why it happened. The sense remains that Mourinho’s presence would have driven them harder.
In the documentary, Ferguson vividly recounts Mourinho in tears as he explained why he couldn’t take the job.
For Manchester United, it was a major setback—one they arguably still haven’t fully recovered from.