Wednesday, June 18 2008 --

Jose Mourinho might well be starting to pull the strings at Italian champions Inter Milan but it has now emerged that the former Chelsea manager wanted to coach the Spanish giants FC Barcelona.

FC Barcelona sporting vice-president Marc Ingla told Catalunya Radio that the club was presented with a keen offer by Mourinho pertaining to the coaching job but the club refused instantly. Ingla says that the Catalan giants always wanted Josep Guardiola to control the reigns at Camp Nou and never for a moment thought about handing the control to the Portguese sorcerer.

Ingla told Catalunya Radio:

"We always worked on the hypothesis of promoting Pep, but we know that the job of coach at Barcelona is one of the most sought-after and Mourinho was interest in explaining his plan for the club and we listened."

Before this somewhat stark revelation, it was being circulated in the European press that it was Barcelona who had approached Jose Mounrinho but now it appears that the reverse is true. Well, it is better for Barcelona and Catalunya football that one of their own, that is Peo Guardiola, is at the helm at Camp Nou as he shall certainly stretch Barca's obsession with good football.

Mourinho, on the other hand, would have been not even half as popular or entertaining with his football.