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#3 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan & Manchester United)
Legendary Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic actually didn’t play under Mourinho for a long period of time. He spent a single season – 2008-09 - under the Portuguese at Inter Milan, and was then brought to Manchester United by him in the 2016-17 campaign.
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However, it’s safe to say that some of the best football of the Swede’s storied career came while playing for ‘The Special One’.
At Inter, Ibrahimovic helped Mourinho to start his time in Italy with a bang, as the club won the Supercoppa Italiana. The season then saw the Swede score 25 goals, finishing at Serie A’s top goalscorer as Inter lifted the Scudetto for the first time under the Portuguese.
The Swede’s performances also saw him named both Footballer of the Year and Foreign Footballer of the Year.
Ibrahimovic departed the San Siro in the summer of 2009, heading to Barcelona. This meant that he missed out on winning the Champions League under Mourinho in the following season. But seven years later, he would link up with the Portuguese boss again, this time at Old Trafford.
Aged 35, there were question marks hanging over how well Ibrahimovic – a free agent – would do in Manchester. But there need not have been any doubts.
The Swede scored the winning goal in the 2016 Community Shield on his debut. He ended the 2016-17 campaign with 28 goals in 46 games - helping United to win the EFL Cup and the UEFA Europa League along the way. And where other managers have felt the scorn of the Swede, Mourinho is different.
In Ibrahimovic’s famous autobiography I Am Zlatan, he even stated that Mourinho “was a guy I was basically willing to die for” – summing up the mutual respect of their relationship.
#4 Diego Costa (Chelsea)
When Mourinho returned to Chelsea for the 2013-14 campaign, his third-place finish was seen as a bit of a disappointment. The feeling was that the Portuguese was just a couple of top-class players short of making a real title challenge.
Of course, ‘The Special One’ ended up leading Chelsea to the Premier League title – his third with the club – in the very next season. And the biggest reason for that success was the two top-class players he brought to Stamford Bridge during the summer of 2014 – Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa.
Both men had a tremendous impact. Fabregas definitely added the mix of steel and slickness that Chelsea’s midfield needed. But it was Costa who really embodied Mourinho’s methods on the pitch.
A physical, bullying striker who wasn’t afraid to mix it with opposing defenders, the Spanish international needed no time to adjust to the Premier League. After four Premier League matches, he’d already scored seven goals, including a stunning hat-trick in a 2-6 mauling of Everton.
Costa finished the season with a total of 20 Premier League goals, despite a hamstring injury restricting him to just 26 appearances. Of course, injuries weren’t the only thing that kept him off the pitch.
His streetwise style also landed him in plenty of hot water. He picked up eight yellow cards across the campaign and was also banned for thee games after stamping on Emre Can in a match with Liverpool. But this kind of behaviour only seemed to endear him more to both the Chelsea fans and to Mourinho. The Portuguese tactician's perceived mastery of football’s ‘Dark Arts’ seemed to be embodied by the Spaniard on the pitch.
Mourinho ended up departing Chelsea during the next campaign, and to tell the truth, Costa was never quite the same for the Blues afterwards. He scored another 20 goals as Chelsea won the 2016-17 Premier League under Antonio Conte, but left under a black cloud shortly after.
It’s safe to say that the mark he made for Mourinho in the lone full season he played under him was effective enough to earn him a spot here.
#5 Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan)
Mourinho won the Scudetto in his first season at Inter Milan. But it wasn’t until the 2009-10 campaign that his name entered into Nerazzurri legend. That season saw his side conquer all, as they not only retained the Scudetto but also captured the Coppa Italia and finally, the Champions League.
Undoubtedly one of the keys to this success was the signing of Dutchman Wesley Sneijder. Sneijder had become surplus to requirements at Real Madrid following the arrivals of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. And somehow, Mourinho was able to capture his signature for just €15m.
His impact was immediate. The Dutchman made his debut in a 4-0 win over Inter’s city rivals AC Milan. Sneijder went onto rack up 26 appearances in Serie A, scoring four goals and registering six assists.
And of course, like all of the great Mourinho players, Sneijder wasn’t afraid to show his combative side. He received two red cards during the same campaign. One came in the return Milan derby after he sarcastically clapped in the face of the referee following a questionable decision.
But it was in Europe that the Dutchman made his greatest mark. Throughout Inter’s eventually victorious Champions League campaign, Sneijder was fantastic. He scored three goals – including one against Barcelona in the first leg of Inter’s semi-final victory. Sneijder registered six assists, including one in the final. In 11 games, the Dutchman was directly involved in nine goals.
Sneijder remained at the San Siro for a further three seasons, but never recreated the success of his debut season once Mourinho departed. Despite only playing under him for a single campaign, the Dutchman’s best football came under the watchful eye of ‘The Special One’.
#6 Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Arguably Chelsea’s greatest-ever player, current Blues boss Frank Lampard stands comfortably as one of the best to play under Mourinho. Lampard had already been at Stamford Bridge for three seasons when ‘The Special One’ arrived. But it was under Mourinho that his career soared to new, incredible heights.
Lampard was an ever-present in Mourinho’s first season in charge, as Chelsea marched almost comfortably to their first Premier League title. He scored 19 goals – the best return of his career to that point. Additionally, Lampard also registered 16 assists, the most in the Premier League.
By the end of the campaign, he was renowned as one of the world’s best midfielders – and was deservedly awarded the FWA Footballer of the Year award.
Somehow, 2005-06 was arguably even more impressive for the England international. September 2005 saw him finish as runner-up in the prestigious Ballon d’Or award. And when Mourinho declared him the “best player in the world”, it didn’t feel far off.
Chelsea again won the Premier League title, and this time Lampard finished as their top scorer, bagging 16 in the league and 20 overall. And while Mourinho couldn’t achieve a hat-trick of league titles in 2006-07, Lampard was still outstanding. The English midfielder scored 21 goals as Chelsea captured the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
Mourinho famously departed Chelsea early on in the 2007-08 campaign, leaving Lampard to continue to write his own legend at the club. Incredibly, during the Portuguese’s tenure there, the England man only missed four league games. This made him Mourinho’s most important Chelsea player.
