'I couldn't believe it' - José Mourinho opens up on shock Tottenham sacking just days before League Cup final & why Heung-min Son bench threat sealed his fate

Former Chelsea and Manchester United boss Mourinho returned to Premier League coaching in November 2019 after receiving an enticing offer from north London. He was given the chance to work with Harry Kane and Co as Spurs endeavoured to bring their long wait for major silverware to a close.

The opportunity to break that run duly arrived in the form of a League Cup final clash with Manchester City, but Mourinho never got the chance to lock horns with Pep Guardiola at the home of English football as he was relieved of his duties four days prior to the fixture taking place.

That huge call came as a shock the man himself, with Mourinho - speaking exclusively to Adebayo Akinfenwa on the Beast Mode On Podcast - saying of how and why he was ushered through the exits: "I couldn't believe it. I know that the final was almost an empty Wembley... Man City will have a couple of thousand fans, split by the whole north or south side of Wembley, Tottenham just a couple of thousand. So it was an empty Wembley, not that big feeling of Wembley. But it was [still] a final.

"It was a final in a moment where Tottenham had no trophies. At this moment, yes, they won the Europa League, but at that time, nothing. It was Harry Kane, zero titles, Son, zero titles, Hugo Lloris, with Tottenham, zero titles."

Tottenham ultimately failed to qualify for the Champions League at the end of that same 2020-21 season, with Mourinho recalling that the ownership had made it clear that a top-four finish was imperative, and perhaps of more importance than the League Cup final.

"I was up to it (managing Spurs in the final). I remember we played in that week, we should play Southampton before the final, and my focus was totally on the final. So it was a shock.

"I believe that one of the reasons was exactly that my focus was on the final and not Southampton. Because for the club, not the fans, the owners, it was more important to try to qualify for the Champions League, for financial reasons, so Southampton was a very important match.

"For me, the important match was the final. It was a medal, a cup, joy for the fans, and Harry Kane was injured. He was a doubt for the final. And in case Harry doesn't recover for the final, the striker had to be Son. Imagine the final without Son and Kane!

"So when the boss asked me: 'What do you think about the Southampton match?' I told him: 'I want to win, we are going to try to win, but without Harry I will leave Son on the bench'. It was a kind of contradiction because for them the final didn't matter much, for me and the players it meant everything."

Tottenham went on to suffer a 1-0 defeat against City, with their silverware curse only being lifted in 2025 when they claimed Europa League glory. Mourinho had long since departed by that point, managing at the likes of Roma, Fenerbahce and Benfica before returning to Real Madrid this summer on a three-year contract.

He will be working with Florentino Perez again at the Bernabeu and has said of the need for unity when it comes to coaches, presidents and supporters: "It's crucial [to be aligned] because you're in their (the chairman or owner) hands. Even if you have a great relationship with the players and the fans, the fans love you, the boss (the owner) - they decide [whether you stay or go]. That's the point.

"I always remember my first period at Chelsea, we were at Stamford Bridge offices taking care of me leaving and I was looking at the window and lots of people, outside, with banners: 'Jose, we love you, Jose, we want you'. Okay, you love me, [but] this guy (the owner) decides."

Mourinho was in charge of Spurs at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic that caused chaos across the world, with the 63-year-old having expressed his disappointment that he was unable to form more of a close bond with Tottenham's fanbase due to the heavy restrictions in football and supporters being barred from attending matches.

He said: "Tottenham was COVID. No connection. I love that connection with the fans. I love my club fans. I easily become one of them. Tottenham, the only thing I remember, was the first match before COVID, at West Ham's stadium, and then it's empty stadiums. It's the only club where I missed that."

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José Mourinho spoke to Beast Mode On Podcast as part of his partnership with Coca-Cola, whose Jose vs Mourinho project sees two AI versions of the iconic coach go head-to-head discussing World Cup topics daily throughout the finals.