The maker of the Jose Mourinho documentary shares a surprising request Pep Guardiola had to be part of the Netflix series.
The director of Jose Mourinho’s documentary has shared why Pep Guardiola wasn’t included in the Netflix series.
‘Mourinho’ is a three-part documentary that came out on Netflix Tuesday. It follows the ups and downs of the famous Portuguese manager’s career. The film, made over two years, gives fans a unique look at Mourinho’s life.
Besides Mourinho, the documentary features interviews with lots of football stars and legends like Sir Alex Ferguson, Eden Hazard, John Terry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, André Villas-Boas, Claude Makelele, Didier Drogba, and many more. Even Iker Casillas, despite a public falling-out with Mourinho, appears in the film.
But Pep Guardiola, Mourinho’s biggest rival, especially during tense El Clasico matches between Barcelona and Real Madrid, doesn’t appear. The director, Joel Pearlman, explained they did try to get Guardiola involved. Guardiola was open to doing an interview but asked that Mourinho contact him personally first.
Pearlman told Football Ramble, “We reached out to Pep, and he said, ‘I will do it, but Jose has to ask.’ You can guess how that went. It just shows a lot about both of them.” Since they’ve known each other for years—Guardiola as a Barcelona player and Mourinho working nearby—they had plenty of chances to cross paths. Later, their rivalry continued in the Premier League with Manchester City and Manchester United.
Guardiola’s condition to speak about Mourinho matches an earlier situation where Mourinho refused to send a video message for a special tribute before Guardiola’s 1000th game. Many other managers happily sent messages, but Mourinho passed on the chance, which Guardiola seemed to notice.
The documentary was made by the same team behind the Netflix film ‘Beckham’ and began filming after Mourinho left Roma. Since then, Mourinho has managed Fenerbahce, Benfica, and returned to Real Madrid for a second spell.