“My wife told me not to take it" - Jose Mourinho's quotes on nearly landing England job resurface amid doubts surrounding Gareth Southgate's future

Old comments from Jose Mourinho on nearly becoming England manager have resurfaced amid uncertainty over the future of Gareth Southgate.

The Three Lions made a demoralizing exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the quarter-finals.

Southgate's side suffered a 2-1 defeat on Saturday, 10 December, as they continue to struggle against top nations.

The English FA want Southgate to continue as manager, but he is uncertain about whether he wants to continue in the role.

🗣️ "It's undeniable that he has done a very, very good job"

Kaveh Solhekol believes if Gareth Southgate walks away from the England job he will have offers from the Premier League or other national teams 📝 https://t.co/bLH7sdqF18

England were on the lookout for a new head coach in 2007 when Steve McClaren was sacked.

Mourinho was one of the names in the frame to take over the job just after being sacked by Chelsea.

He admitted in June 2014 that he would have signed a deal if it weren't for his wife, Matilde.

He said (via the Guardian):

“My wife told me not to take it and she was right."

Mourinho revealed that Chelsea heroes John Terry, Frank Lampard, and Joe Cole were all eager for him to take up the role.

Manchester United and Liverpool players were also willing the Portuguese to become McClaren's successor:

"Lampard, Terry, Joe Cole, everybody, was saying, ‘Come, come, come. ‘The guys from Manchester United and Liverpool call us and say to us: Tell your boss to come.’ I had lots of positive things to push me.”

Former Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello instead replaced McClaren while Mourinho headed for Inter Milan.

The Portuguese coach is now managing AS Roma in Serie A and led them to Europa Conference League glory last season.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Southgate as the Three Lions come to terms with their quarter-final exit.

Mourinho's AS Roma defended Tammy Abraham over his snub from England's squad before the World Cup

Abraham missed out on a spot in the Three Lions' squad

Abraham was somewhat of a shock omission from England's 26-man squad for the World Cup in Qatar.

The Roma striker has scored four goals and contributed two assists in 20 appearances across competitions.

His debut season at the Stadio Olimpico was impressive, bagging 27 goals and five assists in 53 appearances.

Many envisioned he would be heading to Qatar with the Three Lions, but he missed out.

Harry Kane, Callum Wilson, and Marcus Rashford were chosen as Southgate's center-forward options.

No Tammy Abraham ❌
No Fikayo Tomori ❌
No Chris Smalling ❌

Was Southgate right 𝙣𝙤𝙩 to include them in his England squad for the World Cup? https://t.co/tIo1wogyaI

Roma's technical director Tiago Pinto was in disbelief over Abraham's omission.

He alluded to the fact that Southgate chose a few players that were not first-choice for their clubs, saying (via football-italia):

“If Tammy is not part of the England squad because he didn’t score over the last month, for example, but they called up a player who was on the bench for his club yesterday, then in that case Smalling ought to be a starter for England.”