Mourinho says he reneged on deal to return to Chelsea Ferguson confirms story in new Netflix documentary José Mourinho has revealed he signed a contract to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager in 2013 only to tearfully renege on the deal and return to Chelsea. The football world was rocked when the Scottish great announced he was retiring having overseen a 13th Premier League title triumph during a spell of unrivalled dominance at Old Trafford.