José Mourinho was offered the manager’s job at Tottenham Hotspur on five occasions by chairman Daniel Levy, as he negotiated his settlement with Chelsea. Mourinho took a succession of telephone calls from the Tottenham chairman, in an attempt to get him to White Hart Lane immediately. Amazingly, Levy also said he was prepared to match Mourinho’s salary at Chelsea of £5 million a year.

It was a staggering proposal by Levy and another sign of his determination to place Tottenham on a footing to take on the big four. But he ended the day disappointed, after Chelsea insisted that Mourinho sign a clause forbidding him to work for another Premier League club this season.

Yet if Mourinho’s move across London is a nonstarter from his perspective, it is a fresh catastrophe for Martin Jol, the Tottenham manager. He has already suffered the humiliation of a meeting taking place behind his back between senior board members and Juande Ramos, the Seville coach, which greatly undermined his position, and it is plain that Tottenham’s determination to court other managers has not been softened by the outcry that followed this contact.

Jol is plainly not seen as the man to match Tottenham’s ambitions and, even if the club is not prepared to wait for Mourinho, it would seem to be only a matter of time before they part company with the present manager.

Jol is believed to have been in touch with the League Managers’ Association, seeking its support if he is dismissed, and this latest development is only likely to harden his attitude. This time, his job was saved only by an agreement that was part of Mourinho’s £12 million settlement. Bruce Buck, the Chelsea chairman, refused to confirm this yesterday and hid behind legal jargon, but he said Mourinho’s termination agreement contained nothing exceptional in modern company law. Such clauses are now common in football (in fact, Peter Kenyon, the Chelsea chief executive, endured a period of gardening leave before being allowed to leave Manchester United).

What is plain is that Mourinho has become one of the most sought-after figures in football, with David Beckham’s club, LA Galaxy, immediately joining a growing list of potential suitors. Beckham’s employers in Major League Soccer are known to be seeking a replacement for Frank Yallop and, while their chances of landing the Portuguese may be slim, The Times understands they will offer Mourinho the option of a new life in California.

The Galaxy had already sounded out Jürgen Klinsmann to replace Yallop, but the former Germany coach turned down the opportunity, despite being based in Los Angeles. The sunshine may appeal to Mourinho, but, with the Galaxy at the bottom of the Western division with the worst record in the MLS and the Premier League out of bounds, at least in the short term, he is likely to wait for more enticing offers in Europe.

He told Radio 5 Live last night that his next job would not be in England and that his aim was to learn German and Italian.

Atlético Madrid are rumoured to be among the interested parties and, unless Mourinho and Spurs are prepared to wait until next season - that seems unlikely in the circumstances – his next move could take him to Spain or Italy.

Mourinho’s immediate destination is understood to be Brazil on a family holiday. The fact that he has taken his children out of school suggests that he is then planning to head back to Portu-gal. He has already denied that he is interest in running the national team in his home country.

In an interview with RTP, Portugal’s state broadcaster, Mourinho claimed that he was “glad to have left” Stamford Bridge and that saying farewell to his children’s teachers had made him tearful for the first time since he lost his job.

He said that he had hugged 23 tearful players at the training ground, but the station reported that Mourinho had also talked privately of two stars who should hang their heads in shame. Let the guessing game begin.