Jose Mourinho and Gareth Bale had always seemed to be the football connection that was destined never to happen. Once at Real Madrid, and for two successive summers at Manchester United, Mourinho tried and failed to add the Wales winger to his squad.
In so many ways, Bale was, and is, a classic Mourinho player. He is athletic, physically imposing, has pace, undoubted quality and knows how to win. He was a rising star when Mourinho first attempted to sign him for Real in 2012 and a proven world-class performer when the Portuguese identified him as having the winning mentality he was so desperate to inject into his United squad in 2016 and 2017.