Jose Mourinho has said he was "hours" away from taking the England manager's job in 2007 before turning it down.
The former Chelsea boss, now at Real Madrid, told l'Equipe he rejected the FA's offer because he wanted to stay in club football.
He was sacked by Chelsea in September 2007 and was a popular choice to replace Steve McClaren as England boss following the failure to qualify for Euro 2008.
