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It's almost like he came prepared.

One of the high points of an oh-so entertaining introductory press conference for Jose Mourinho at Manchester United was when he was asked about to defend his record of bringing through youth players.

The Portuguese immediately jumped into action, waving a piece of paper which he claimed had the names of 49 young players he has brought through.

"I never promote players because of need - I did it because of conviction and decision. I did 49 - some of them are big names, they are Champions League winners, in the Euros, playing for national teams.

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"One lie repeated many times sometimes looks true but it will never be true. If you want the names, I give you the names."

Alas, he didn't reveal his list during the press conference, but we've scoured through his managerial career and we think we've found Jose's 49 kids.

Bear in mind it's tricky to second-guess the former Chelsea man, so our list may not be the same as his list. If he does reveal all, then we'll tweak it, Life of Pablo style.

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Benfica

1. Diogo Luis (2000)

The Portuguese striker has the honour of being number one on Jose's list. Had a journeyman career which ended with a stint in Cyprus. Now a financial advisor in a bank.

2. Geraldo Alves (2000)

After being handed his debut by Mourinho, Alves went on to play for a number of European sides, including AEK Athens and Steaua Bucuresti. Still going at Romanian side Petrolul Ploiesti.

Uniao de Leiria

3. Joao Paulo Andrade (2001)

Was Mourinho's captain for the minnows but his career became nomadic after he left for Porto in 2006.

Porto

(Image: Getty)

4. Ricardo Costa (2002)

Promoted from Porto's B team and has gone on to enjoy a fine career, with spells at Wolfsburg and Valencia, plus 22 Portugal caps. Now at Granada in Spain.

5. Joca (2002)

Defensive midfielder who only played a couple of first-team games for the Portuguese giants before having 13 other clubs in 12 years.

6. Hugo Luz (2003)

Another who made little impact at Porto, his career took him to a number of smaller clubs before reitirement last year.

7. Reinaldo (2003)

Only played once for the first team and there are precious few details about his life since then.

8. Elias (2003)

Brazilian midfielder who played a single game for Porto, pottered around Portugal for some time, then pitched up in Bulgaria, where he's going strong at 34.

9. Bruno Moraes (2003)

Arrived from Brazilian club Santos as a teenager and played 17 times before three spells out on loan. Had a stint in Hungary but now in the Portuguese second flight.

10. Hugo Almeida (2003)

(Image: Getty Images)

Handed his debut by Mourinho in 2003, Almeida is still going strong at Hannover after a successful career which included spells at Werder Bremen and Besiktas. The centre-forward netted 19 goals in 57 appearances for Portugal and was part of their squad for two European Championships and two World Cups.

11. Pedro Ribeiro (2004)

Another one-game wonder, the defender has never left Portugal and now plays for Penafiel.

12. Bruno Vale (2004)

The goalkeeper managed (yep) one match for Porto before five loan spells. Now plays in Cyprus for Apollon Limassol

13. Andre Vilas Boas (2004)

No, not that one. This Vilas Boas vintage is a defensive midfielder who is currently plying his trade at Rio Ave.

(Image: Epsilon)

Chelsea (First spell)

14. Steven Watt (2005)

Made just one Premier League appearance for Chelsea, coming on as an 89th minute substitute for Jiri Jarosik against Newcastle in 2005. Now at Hastings United in the Isthmian League Division One South as a player/assistant manager.

15. Lenny Pidgeley (2005)

Most famous for being front and centre of Chelsea's 2005 title celebrations after he came on as a substitute for Carlo Cudicini in the final game of the season. Soon began a rapid descent down the divisions and was last spotted at Forest Green Rovers.

(Image: Ben Hoskins)

16. Anthony Grant (2005)

Handed his debut by Mourinho in 2005, Grant embarked on a series of loan moves before a succesful stint at Southend United. Now at Port Vale.

17. Jimmy Smith (2006)

Made his first-team debut in May 2006, but only managed the one Premier League appearance for the Blues. Joined Leyton Orient after a string of loan spells and is currently at Crawley Town.

18. Ben Sahar (2007)

Managed to wrack up three substitute appearances for Chelsea in the Premier League, before again going on the customary streak of loan moves, taking in spells in Holland, Israel, France and Germany. Had permanent stints at Espanyol and Willem II and is now at Hapoel Be'er Sheva.

(Image: Dean Mouhtaropoulos)

19. Michael Woods (2007)

Plucked from the Leeds United academy, Woods made only two FA Cup appearances from the bench for Chelsea before he was hit by injuries and released in 2011. Again, he dropped down the leagues and is now at Hartlepool United.

20. Sam Hutchinson (2007)

After making his senior debut in 2007, Hutchinson battled a series of injuries which would cause him to retire aged 21. But he soon returned after his knee problem improved and stuck it out at Stamford Bridge (with a few loan moves, natch) until 2014 when he moved to Sheffield Wednesday, where is remains.

(Image: Reuters)

Inter Milan

21. Davide Santon (2008)

The Italian burst onto the scene under Mourinho at Inter, but his career stalled after injury and Newcastle United happened to him. Now back at the San Siro.

22. Rene Krhin (2009)

Slovenian youngster who made his first-team debut at the San Siro in 2009, but didn't last long at Inter, joining Bologna a year later. Now at Granada in Spain.

(Image: Ezra Shaw)

23. Giulio Donati (2009)

The defender was handed a go in the Inter first-team in a Coppa Italia match in 2009, but failed to turn out in Serie A before a stint of Serie B loan moves. Moved to Bayer Leverksusen in 2013 and can currently been found strutting his stuff for Mainz.

24. Francesco Bolzoni (2009)

The Former Italy Under-21 international was given his Serie A debut in May 2009, but that was his only appearance for Inter. Not at Novara in Serie B.

25. Alen Stevanovic (2010)

Serbian winger who turned out once in Serie A for Inter before moving on to Torino. Returned to his homeland in 2015 when he signed for Partizan.

Real Madrid

26. Juan Carlos (2010)

Came on for Angel Di Maria in a league win over Deportivo la Coruna – his one and only first-team game. Moved to Braga, who have loaned him out to four different Spanish clubs... and never used him in their own XI.

(Image: Getty)

27. Pablo Sarabia (2010)

One appearance off the bench in the Champions League was all the attacking midfielder managed before going to Getafe. Five seasons and 145 games later, he's just joined Sevilla.

28. Antonio Adan (2010)

Goalkeeper who made 18 appearances in all competitions for Los Blancos and now serves as No.1 at Real Betis.

29. Alvaro Morata (2010)

Currently one of Europe's hottest properties after a goal-laden spell at Juventus. Back in Madrid after they exercised their buy-back clause in his contract last month, but could soon again be on the move as Madrid look to cash in.

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30. Alex Fernandez (2011)

Midfielder who has yet to kick on after playing for Spain at youth level. Played twice for Real before going to Espanyol, who loaned him out to Reading last season.

31. Nacho (2011)

Still at Real Madrid, where he is a useful squad player for the European Champions. Made his Spain debut in 2013.

32. Tomas Mejias (2011)

Young goalkeeper who made a handful of games before going on loan to Middlesbrough. They made the move permanent in 2014 but he is only a back-up option.

33. Jese (2011)

Again, still at the Bernabeu and again, mainly a back up for Zinedine Zidane's side. Capped up to an under-21 level with Spain.

(Image: Reuters)

34. Joselu (2011)

Handed his La Liga debut by Mourinho at the end of the 2010-11 season, scoring moments after coming on. He never really cracked the first-team at the Bernabeu though, moving onto Hoffenheim in 2012. Spent a year at Hannover before joining Stoke last summer for a free of £5.75million, where he has failed to dazzle.

35. Jorge Casado (2011)

Played over 100 games for Real's reserve side before finally making his debut in a cup match. Then moved to Betis and joined second-division Ponferradina.

36. Pedro Mendes (2011)

Played in a Champions League win over Ajax but returned to parent club Sporting Lisbon soon after. Now in France with Rennes.

37. Jose Rodriguez (2012)

Powerful midfielder who played four times for Los Blancos. Now at Mainz in Germany after a season at Galatasaray.

(Image: Getty)

38. Denis Cheryshev (2012)

Most famous for getting Madrid kicked out of the Copa del Rey last season, when he featured against Cadiz despite being suspended. Was soon bombed out of the club, being loaned to Valencia in February, before securing a permanent move to Villarreal last month.

39. Casemiro (2013)

Became a key man for Madrid last year under Zidane, starting the Champions League final success against Atletico in May.

40. Fabinho (2013)

Left Bernabeu for Monaco in 2015 following a loan stint with the Ligue 1 side. The 22-year-old is a full Brazilian international and was deputy to Dani Alves at the 2015 Copa America.

(Image: Philipp Schmidli)

41. Omar Mascarell (2013)

Defensive midfielder who is still at Real despite not being in a first-team squad for some time. Went on loan to Derby for a season and spent last term at Sporting Gijon.

42. Diego Llorente (2013)

Promising defender who racked up plenty of experience last season on loan at Rayo Vallecano. Has already made his debut for Spain.

Chelsea (Second spell)

43. Tomas Kalas (2013)

Two Premier League appearances for the Blues in 2013/14 promised much, but he has since been shunted out on loan – first to Cologne, then to Middlesbrough, where he has spent the last two seasons.

(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

44. Lewis Baker (2014)

Yet to turn out for Chelsea in the Premier League, Baker has been progressing nicely via a number of loan spells and will spend the new season on loan at Vitesse for a second season after impressing last year.

45. John Swift (2014)

Made his Blues Premier League debut at the end of the 2013-14 season before embarking on a series of loan moves. Had an impressive stint at Brentford last season and has now returned to Stamford Bridge.

46. Dominic Solanke (2014)

The highly-rated attacker became the youngest Chelsea player to play in the Champions League in 2014-15 and spent last season at Vitesse, scoring seven gaols in 25 appearances. Now back with the Blues.

(Image: Getty)

47. Andreas Christensen (2014)

Handed his Blues debut by Mourinho in a League Cup game in October 2014, the defender spent last season at Borussia Monchengladbach on loan, where he was named as their Player of the Season, ahead of Arsenal new boy Granit Xhaka . Has another year on his Gladbach loan deal.

48. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (2014)

The most successful Chelsea academy graduate of recent years, Loftus-Cheek has been a regular in the Blues' first-team squad since his debut in the 2014-15 season. Notably, has not had a single loan move away from Stamford Bridge.

49. Bertrand Traore (2015)

The Burkinabe international was the last Chelsea players to be handed a debut by Mourinho and has made ten Premier League appearances for the Blues.

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