Former advisor claims Mourinho had pact to join Liverpool before Chelsea switch

A new book detailing Jose Mourinho's celebrated career claims the manager had an agreement to join Liverpool in 2004 before Chelsea swooped in with a lucrative offer to nab the Portuguese tactician.

French journalist Nicolas Vilas' "Mourinho: Behind the Special One, from the origin to the glory" features an admission from former Mourinho advisor Jorge Baidek that the current Tottenham boss was set to succeed Gerard Houllier at Anfield.

"Mourinho should have gone to Liverpool. Rick Parry (then chief executive) was in charge of transfers and we had an agreement. They asked us to wait for 15 days as Houllier was still the Reds' manager," Baidek said, per ESPN UK.

The book claims Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes, who had not previously worked with the then-Porto boss, presented an offer on behalf of Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

Mourinho then had a meeting with Abramovich on the eve of Porto's continental semifinal versus Deportivo in May 2004. The two met again on the Russian oil tycoon's yacht in Monaco the day following Porto's Champions League-clinching victory against Monaco.

Houillier left Liverpool at the end of May 2004 by mutual consent and was replaced by Rafa Benitez, and Mourinho penned a three-year deal at Stamford Bridge on June 2.

Boosted by a massive influx of investment from Abramovich, Mourinho guided Chelsea to the Premier League title and the League Cup in his first season in charge in 2004-05, and replicated the league feat the following campaign as the Blues captured England's top flight in successive terms for the first time in club history.

Mourinho left Chelsea for Inter in September 2007 with six trophies in three years to mark the Blues' most successful spell before returning to west London in 2013 to again guide the club to a domestic double in 2014-15.