Mourinho’s First Signings: How Do They Rank?
Since rising to fame with his legendary Porto side, Jose Mourinho has become known for his smart picks and audacious offers in the transfer market. The Portuguese manager builds his sides around select specialist players that he trusts with his life, and it is common to see his first signing reflect the philosophy he is trying to implement at his club.
With Gedson Fernandes becoming the Portuguese’s first signing at Spurs last January, we thought we would go through Mourinho’s managerial history and attempt to rank how his first signings have all fared.
Porto : Tiago Pereira (2002)
Hand picked to replace the legendary Octávio Machado in January 2002, Mourinho’s impressive first half season at Porto led to the Portuguese maestro proclaiming that he was going to make his new side champions by the close of the following season.
Whilst his time in Portugal has become synonymous with the likes of Ricardo Carvalho, Deco and Benni McCarthy, the tough tackling Portgual U21 midfielder Tiago Pereira was actually Mourinho’s first signing at Porto.
An ever-present at Uniao de Leiria with Mourinho, Tiago Pereira proved himself to be a solid and reliable lieutenant in Porto’s midfield over the next season as the side claimed the league title, Taca De Portugal and the 2002–03 UEFA Cup.
Pereira would go out on loan from Porto in 2004 before departing for Boavista and spending the remaining twelve years playing across Portugal.
Rank: 6/10.
Chelsea : Paulo Ferreira (2004)
Turned from a middling right midfielder to one of the most solid and dependable right backs during his time with Mourinho at Porto, Ferreira was the first face to follow his manager to England following Porto’s memorable Champions League.
The Portuguese right back had missed only two league games during his time with Mourinho at Porto, and would appear regularly for his manager during his first three seasons in England, making 42, 31 and 37 appearances during Mourinho’s first Chelsea stint.
Ferreira would pick up back to back Premier League medals during his first two seasons in England, but would generally struggle to find a good run of time in the first time following Mourinho’s resignation in 2007.
Nevertheless, he remains a firm favourite around Stamford Bridge and can still point to a pretty impressive trophy cabinet from his time on the pitch.
Rank: 7/10.
Inter Milan: Mancini (2008)
Obviously not to be confused with the former Manchester City boss whom Jose Mourinho locked horns with during their Premier League days, Brazilian midfielder Mancini had amassed over 150 appearances playing under the likes of Fabio Capello when he was signed by Jose Mourinho during his opening weeks at Inter Milan.
Having been a long time target of previous Inter boss Roberto Mancini, this Brazilian forward didn’t exactly look like a typical Mourinho signing.
Capable of brilliance and absolutely dazzling with his step over skills, his inconsistency and lack of defensive support in comparison to the likes of Diego Milito and Sulley Muntari ended up costing him his place in what would arguably become Mourinho’s greatest ever side.
After one goals over the course of his 27 game debut season, Mancini was shipped out on loan for the remainder of the 2009–10 season to A.C. Milan where he continued to flatter to deceive before moving on permanently at the end of the campaign.
Rank: 2/10.
Real Madrid: Angel Di Maria (2010)
Following his historic treble win with Inter Milan in 2010, Jose Mourinho had cemented himself as the world’s best coach, with only the Galaticos of Real Madrid able to entice the Portuguese coach away from Italy with a world record compensation package dished out for him by Florentino Perez in May.
Mourinho’s first signing after arriving at the Santiago Bernabéu was Argentine playmaker Angel Di Maria from Benfica for €25 million, plus €11 million in incentives on June 28th.
Di Maria would play over 140 times during Jose’s time in the dugout at Madrid, establishing himself as arguably the finest creative playmaker of his generation in European football, displacing even the likes of Kaka and Mesut Ozil at the top of Mourinho’s pecking order.
Minus one especially turbulent year at Manchester United (which is certainly nothing new for hyped up no.7s), Di Maria has continued to play as one of the most dangerous attacking players in the world.
Rank: 9/10.
Chelsea: André Schürrle (2013)
‘The Happy One’ returned to Chelsea after four years with Los Galacticos in June 2013, six years after his first exit from Stamford Bridge.
There were some memorable moments and promising signs, with Mourinho inflicting one of his masterclasses on Liverpool at Anfield and ending their eleven game winning run, as well as improving Chelsea’s fortunes in the Champions League by taking them all the way to the semi-finals.
A serious lack of firepower and a handful of slip ups against lower league opposition would prove to be the Blues’ undoing by the end of the season, but 2013/14 was a nice easing in for Mourinho and his staff.
It was also a relatively successful season for recruitment too, with the likes of Willian, Nemanja Matic, Kurt Zouma and Samuel Eto’o joining the Blues. (Though 2013/14 was also that famous year Mourinho let Kevin de Bruyne, Mohammed Salah and Juan Mata leave).
However, the first recruit brought in for Mourinho’s second stint was the German winger André Schürrle. The 2014 World Cup winner arrived from Bayer Leverkusen for £18.7 million in July and became a regular under Mourinho, playing 65 times and scoring 13 times over a year and a half in London.
He left midway through Chelsea’s title winning season in 14/15 and ended up retiring at just 28 years of age, suggesting his best days might have been spent in London.
Rank: 7/10.
Manchester United: Eric Bailly (2016)
The role of Manchester United manager was something Jose Mourinho coveted ever since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, but he would have to wait until 2016 for the opportunity, following the dismissal of Louis van Gaal.
Mourinho certainly had his favourites during his time at Old Trafford, and his recruitment of players such as Nemanja Matic, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku were all archetypal players for the Portuguese’s style.
His first recruit brought in was Eric Bailly, signing from Villarreal for £30 million. The Ivorian centre back had a good opening season with the club, appearing 38 times in all competitions as United won the Community Shield, EFL Cup and Europa League, and he has always remained a fan favourite thanks to his skills on the ball and no nonsense approach to his defensive duties.
However, following his first year, Bailly was one of the biggest casualties of the Mourinho era falling apart. Injuries and a general distrust from the manager led to the defender making fewer than 20 appearances in 2017/18 and 2018/19, with a particularly humiliating highlight being his 18th minute hook during a 3–2 home win against Newcastle.
But whilst his relationship with Mourinho soured, Bailly has remained a Manchester United defender and, when fit, is one of the most integral cogs in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team.
Rank: 6/10.
