Jose Mourinho is almost right when he says in a new documentary about his career that it hurts no one to reveal that he reneged on an agreement to join Manchester United in 2013 when he left Real Madrid and went back to Chelsea instead.Mourinho likes to tell stories of self-aggrandisement that remind us that he was once, long ago, one of the great managers in the game, coveted by all. Back then, those who thought Cristiano Ronaldo was Lionel Messi’s equal also tended to think Mourinho was a match for Pep Guardiola.Now that he is beginning a second stint in charge of Real Madrid, back in charge of A-list superstars like Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, he may think it propitious to release details of the fact that he had been chosen to be Sir Alex Ferguson’s heir at Old Trafford.The news reminds us he was a giant then, rather than the manager who has spent his most recent years as an also-ran at Spurs, Roma and Fenerbahce and was at Benfica last season, where he could only finish a distant third in the Portuguese league behind Porto and Sporting.The main hope for Real Madrid is that Mourinho has been outmoded for so long that perhaps it is time for his negativity and his cynicism to come back into fashion, now that giants like Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have left the club stage.But even if we ignore the fact that Mourinho’s sudden fit of truth-telling casually lets everyone know that David Moyes was not the first choice to succeed Sir Alex at United, there is another person who does not quite escape clean from Mourinho’s revelations and that is him. Jose Mourinho’s revelation that he rejected the Man United job in 2013 reminds us of the man’s fickleness and how, sometimes, a job he takes can go wrong almost before it has started It also reminds us that now he will have to convince Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Trent Alexander-Arnold and the rest at Madrid that he is not out of his timeBecause it lets us know that Mourinho had an agreement to join one of the great clubs of the world and turned his back on it. Sure, it reminds us that he was once in demand but it also reminds us of the man’s fickleness and how, sometimes, a job he takes can go wrong almost before it has started.It also reminds us that now that he, rather implausibly, has the reins at the Bernabeu, he will have to convince Bellingham, Mbappe, Vinicius, Trent Alexander-Arnold and the rest of the stellar cast at Madrid that he is not a man out of his time, a man who has been overtaken by football and who cannot keep up.The new Mourinho documentary, which will air on Netflix this week, sheds new light on the conflicts that the manager endured with Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and, particularly, Iker Casillas during his first spell in Madrid. Many believe those years at the Bernabeu curdled Mourinho’s attitude towards modern players.It is already evident that he will have work to do to convince Vinicius to believe in him. The Brazilian forward has just signed a new six-year contract but it was only last season when, in the wake of allegations that Vinicius had been racially abused during a Champions League tie between Madrid and Mourinho’s Benfica, Mourinho accused Vinicius of inciting his players with his goal celebrations. Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany was among those who criticised Mourinho’s stance.If Mourinho retains any of the man-management smarts that were once such an integral part of his success, he will make it his mission to win over Bellingham and make the England midfielder his leader and his voice on the pitch.Bellingham had an outstanding World Cup for England that went far beyond the tirelessness of his performances and his goal contributions. Bellingham already had little to prove to anybody but the tournament in North America was the time he answered every remaining question asked of him.He proved, above all, that he was a leader, a player who can not only inspire by example but who can carry players with him. He proved that he is continuing to mature with frightening speed and that he is England’s captain in waiting.Mourinho has made Federico Valverde his captain for the coming season and the Uruguay midfielder is a wonderful player who commands the respect of all. But Bellingham would have been an even better choice. He represents youth and promise and an insatiable hunger to succeed. It is already evident that Mourinho will have work to do to convince Vinicius to believe in him If Mourinho retains any of the man-management smarts that were once such an integral part of his success, he will make it his mission to make Bellingham his leader at RealAt a time when Madrid have lost the league twice in a row to Barcelona, Mourinho’s team is crying out for a fresh start. Bellingham symbolises everything they need to succeed and Mourinho’s relationship with him will be the key to whether Madrid can mount a successful challenge to dethrone their Catalan rivals.If Mourinho retreats into suspicion and cynicism, then Madrid’s season will quickly become a familiar picture of the conflict and intrigue that have dogged so many of the manager’s club tenures. If he embraces the promise and the ambition and verve that Bellingham symbolises, then maybe there is a chance that even Mourinho can enjoy his very own Remontada in Madrid.Tennis caught in a pickle Back from nine weeks in the US, I have acquired a fondness for certain American pastimes. Chief among those is a new addiction to pickleball.Our neighbours in New Hampshire traced out a pickleball court on their drive, bought a net from Walmart and we played every night after dinner. My son and I found a dedicated, thriving, two-storey pickleball club 20 miles away and spent a couple of evenings there, too.My ambition for the next time I make it to the States is to play on the pickleball courts that spring up on the Wollman Ice Rink in Central Park, New York City in summer.The surge of popularity of pickleball in the US is not dissimilar to the rise of padel in Europe. Both present a growing challenge to tennis at a time when the sport appears to be gravely lacking in leadership. Enzo Maresca (right) will need to readjust his sights if he is to survive at Man City. There are a lot of tough jobs in English football but following Pep Guardiola (centre) is the toughestMaresca’s enormous shoes to fillThere is a man in charge at Manchester City now who helped throw more than £1billion against the wall at Chelsea and celebrated finishing fourth in the league by telling anyone who had doubted him to ‘F off’, as if what he had done was a great achievement.Enzo Maresca will need to readjust his sights if he is to survive at the Etihad Stadium. There are a lot of tough jobs in the top flight of English football but following Pep Guardiola at City is the toughest of all of them.Any attempt to celebrate finishing anywhere other than at the top of the table will not be viewed kindly by his new paymasters.