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Manchester City ditched plans to appoint Jose Mourinho – because he was desperate to one day become Manchester United boss.

The Mancunian Blues approached Mourinho about taking over at the Etihad in 2009, before finally identifying Roberto Mancini as the man to succeed Mark Hughes.

But the deal was abandoned when club executives became aware that the Special One’s prime ambition was to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.

A City insider said: “Talks did take place about Mourinho before the appointment of Mancini. But it quickly became apparent that he wasn’t the right man for the job. The perception given was that the one job Mourinho really wanted was to manage United.”

Mourinho has always denied claims that he wanted to be the United boss and that he was devastated when it was announced last April that David Moyes would be Ferguson’s successor.

He returned to Chelsea in the summer after successful spells at Inter Milan and Real Madrid.