Jose Mourinho's Shocking Decision That Cost England a Ballon d'Or Star
José Mourinho might have played a role in England missing out on a Ballon d'Or-nominated midfielder while serving as Manchester United's manager, through his guidance of Scott McTominay.
Mourinho was instrumental in giving McTominay his initial opportunity among his 255 United appearances, granting the academy graduate his debut in May 2017 and establishing him as a regular fixture in the first team for subsequent managers.
McTominay represents Scotland internationally, helping the country qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 this week with a strike that might earn him the 2026 Puskás Award. However, the Napoli midfielder was born and brought up in England—specifically in Preston, located in central Lancashire.
He qualifies to play for Scotland through his Scottish heritage on his father's side and had the choice to commit his international future to either England or Scotland. With Mourinho's support, he selected Scotland and has earned 66 international caps at age 28.
"Reflecting on it now, I believe all of us Scots owe José Mourinho a debt of gratitude," stated Alex McLeish, who served as Scotland's manager for his second tenure from 2018–2019, speaking to the Telegraph.
"José had given a public statement indicating that England risked losing Scott and that I needed to contact him immediately! Therefore, I organized a visit to United's training facility to meet with him and Scott."
McLeish continued by describing how his journey south from Edinburgh was severely hampered by the 'Beast from the East', a severe cold front that struck the United Kingdom in March 2018. The manager confessed he "nearly didn't complete the trip", contemplating returning home before finally reaching Manchester at 4 a.m.
Media coverage the subsequent week disclosed that Gareth Southgate, England's manager at the time, had also made a visit the day following McLeish's arrival.
"I contacted José later that morning. 'Arrive at 12, we'll have lunch and discuss Scott, then bring him into the conversation.' He was extremely helpful," the former Scotland manager added. "I suspected Scott was interested, but I believed he would require significant convincing. He entered and was quite decisive about wanting to play for Scotland."
'Always' Scotland for McTominay
Several years afterward, McTominay, who was never called up by England at youth level during his development at Man Utd, suggested that his decision was already settled. Regardless, Mourinho would have backed whichever choice he made.
"I'm deeply grateful to him and my family adores him," McTominay shared on the High Performance podcast in 2024. "When I was considering representing Scotland, because I had always dreamed of playing for Scotland in honor of my grandfather, José consistently advised, 'Follow your heart, I'm always available to discuss any choices.'"