How Jose Mourinho Robbed England of a Ballon d’Or Nominee

Scott McTominay had the option to represent the Three Lions at international level.

José Mourinho was there to support. / Stu Forster/Getty Images

José Mourinho may have contributed to costing England a Ballon d’Or-nominated midfielder during his time as Manchester United manager, due to his influence over Scott McTominay.

Mourinho was responsible for handing McTominay the first of his 255 appearances for United, presenting the home-grown player with a debut in May 2017 and making him a permanent feature of the senior squad for successive future managers.

McTominay plays international football for Scotland, helping the nation reach the World Cup for the first time since 1998 this week with a goal that could potentially win him the 2026 Puskás Award. But the Napoli star was born and raised in England—Preston, in central Lancashire, to be precise.

He is eligible to represent the Tartan Army through his Scottish father and had the option of pledging his international career to either England or Scotland. With the backing of Mourinho, he chose the latter and has amassed 66 caps by the age of 28.

Scott McTominay is a Scotland hero. / Stu Forster/Getty Images

“Looking back now I suppose all of us Scots should say a little thank you to José Mourinho,” Alex McLeish, Scotland manager for the second time from 2018–2019, told the Telegraph.

“José had given an interview in which he let it be known that England were in danger of missing out on Scott and that I should be getting in touch with him at the first opportunity! So, I arranged to go down to United’s training ground to see him and Scott.”

McLeish went on to explain that his travel down from Edinburgh was heavily disrupted by the ‘Beast from the East’, a cold snap which hit the United Kingdom in March 2018. The manager admitted he “almost didn’t make it”, considering turning back before eventually arriving in Manchester at 4 a.m.

A news report the following week revealed that Gareth Southgate, then the England manager, had also visited the day after McLeish.

“I rang José later that morning. ‘Come here for 12, let’s have lunch and a chat about Scott and then we’ll get him in the room.’ He couldn’t have been more accommodating,” the ex-Scotland boss continued. “I’d sensed Scott was keen, but I thought he’d still take a lot of persuading. He came in and was pretty clear in his own mind that he wanted to represent Scotland.”

Mourinho played a key role in McTominay’s early career. / Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

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‘Always’ Scotland for McTominay

A few years later, McTominay, who was never selected by England at the junior international level as he rose through the ranks at Man Utd, alluded to the fact that he’d already made up his mind. Either way, Mourinho was also going to support whatever decision he made.

“I owe him a great deal and my family love him,” McTominay told the High Performance podcast in 2024. “When I was going to play for Scotland, because I always wanted to play for Scotland for my grandpa, Jose was always saying, ‘Go with your heart, I’m always here to talk about any decisions.’”

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