Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is reported to have given a bizarre reason that prevented the club clinching the transfer of Harry Maguire a year before eventually signing him anyway.
The England international has been a big hit at Man Utd since his summer transfer from Leicester City, eventually moving to Old Trafford for a fee of £80million, as reported at the time by BBC Sport.
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However, it seems quite possible that United could have signed Maguire for a lower price just a year earlier if not for Mourinho’s pride.
According to The Athletic, the Portuguese tactician, now manager of Tottenham, insisted that he didn’t want the club to pay more than £50m for Maguire as he felt it would damage his personal reputation.
This gives a decent idea of how tense relations must have been between Mourinho and MUFC at this point, and it’s little surprise he didn’t last much longer in the job.
In the end, United fans will probably feel Maguire has been worth the investment anyway, but it will also certainly be frustrating to hear that Mourinho prevented the deal happening earlier and possibly at a more reasonable price.