Jose Mourinho explains why he rejected England job in 2007
McClaren, now an assistant coach at Manchester United, spent just over a year in charge of the Three Lions and was sacked in November 2007 after failing to qualify for Euro 2008.
Mourinho has been consistently linked with taking over a national team job throughout his career ever since he successfully steered Chelsea to successive Premier League titles in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
England eventually appointed Italian boss Fabio Capello as their second-ever foreign manager, after Mourinho opted to join Inter Milan in the summer of 2008 following his exit from Chelsea.
«I could have been the coach of [the England] national team,» Mourinho told Rio Ferdinand on the Vibe with Five podcast. «I had it there on the table.
»[I turned it down] because I always had national team jobs as something I wouldn't enjoy. It was in 2007-08 and Mr Capello got the job."
Capello, who spent just over four years in charge of England between December 2007 and February 2012, boasts the best win percentage (66.7%) of any Three Lions manager to have coached multiple games.
However, Capello decided to resign from his post just four months before the start of Euro 2012 following the Football Association's decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy without consulting the then 65-year-old.
England have since unearthed a host of promising players under current manager Gareth Southgate, who has reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the Euro 2020 final during his reign.
The Three Lions are considered as one of the favourites to go all the way at Euro 2024 and win their first major trophy in 58 years, and Mourinho has been impressed by this
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