London: English football champions Chelsea's manager Jose Mourinho has revealed he had discussions with Alex Ferguson for succeeding him as Manchester United's manager after the latter's retirement in 2013, but always had eyes for his current job.

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Mourinho joined Chelsea in 2013 for his second spell at the club after earlier taking charge from 2004 to 2007. Mourinho left Real Madrid and started his second stint at Chelsea when he signed a four-year deal, a month after Ferguson had announced David Moyes would be replacing him at United.

The Portuguese was believed to be a contender for the position, but claims Ferguson knew he wanted to return to Chelsea.

"Every manager in the world looks at Manchester United as a huge club but I wanted to come to Chelsea. And we didn't bring that to the table because we were so open and he knows so much about myself that he knew that for almost a season, I want to leave Real Madrid and I want to come to Chelsea," Mourinho was quoted as saying by BBC on Monday.

"He (Ferguson) told me a huge secret, not many people knew, like, one month or two months before the decision. I know that he trusts me, because if he doesn't, he doesn't tell me but I was scared. I was scared so when finally he informed the media about this decision it was a sense of relief," he said.

Manchester United finished seventh in their first English Premier League season without Ferguson in 2013-14 whereas Mourinho guided Chelsea to the second spot.