Real Madrid have denied reports Jose Mourinho signed a contract with the club before leaving Inter Milan in 2010.
Now at Manchester United, the Portuguese manager led Inter to an historic Treble of titles in the 2009-10 season, winning Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League that campaign.
Mourinho assumed the reins at Real the next season, and Spanish outlet AS has reported he'd signed on to replace Manuel Pellegrini on March 31, 2010, nearly two months before Real's Champions League victory over Bayern Munich.
However, the Bernabeu club released a statement on Thursday denying a deal had been done before his contract expired.