Did Ingla want to sign Mourinho?

Since he publicly announced his candidacy for president of FC Barcelona, Barcelona presidential candidate Marc Ingla has explained several times that he didn't want to sign José Mourinho as successor of Frank Rijkaard as was rumoured in certain media and how the club decided to appoint Guardiola as new coach:

"In november 2007, Txiki Begiristain and I met in my hotel room in Lyon during the afternoon, before the game against Lyon that ended 2-2. We worked for hours and went through the whole sports area. One of the things that came out of this meeting was that the sports project of Frank Rijkaard was coming to an end and that we needed a substitute for the next summer.

Already at that time, Txiki Begiristain said that the best candidate was Pep Guardiola, because he liked his tactics and his way of working. We agreed he was our best option but we knew it was a bold decision, so we said that if we would go with that to the board, we better also first took a look at the other options.

So within the same profile, names like Valverde, Blanc or Laudrup were put on the table, we studied them and we made progress in the process of chosing the new coach. In that process, mister Mourinho also appeared. He was very willing to coach FC Barcelona. He was in Lisbon, he knew our club and he didn't have a job, which also made him a candidate in case Rijkaard wouldn't finish the season.

We went to see Mourinho to hear what his project was, what kind of man he is. The conclusion was that he's a great coach but that his shortcomings made him not a candidate to become the coach of FC Barcelona. That is what we told the president when we were back in Barcelona and I have witnesses of that meeting. So whoever says something else or claims I wanted Mourinho, doesn't speak the truth.

The coach of Barcelona is the image of the club. He has several press conferences a week. So it should be a person who can explain the sporting issues but he should also transmit the values of the club. He has to be educated and not break some basic rules. I think that in this perspective we made the best choice."

Read more:
Ferrer: "Guardiola and Begiristian are untouchable"
Ingla plans referendums on shirts and stadium
Rosell wants Guardiola for six more years

sources: don balón and others