Jose Mourinho would not be an ideal candidate for the manager's job at Manchester United, according to Spanish-based journalist Sid Lowe.
Alex Ferguson announced his decision to retire from football management on Wednesday, and Mourinho's name has been touted as a potential replacement.
But Lowe believes the idea was never seriously considered, with current Everton manager David Moyes the overwhelming favourite to take over at Old Trafford.
"The reality is of course that talk of Jose Mourinho potentially going to Manchester United really didn't last very long because everybody here (in Spain) quickly cottoned on to the fact that David Moyes was a very clear favourite," Lowe said.
"I think there are a lot of people here that doubted anyway, as people in England did, that Mourinho was the right kind of candidate that Alex Ferguson would have helped United look for."
Ferguson's decision escalated quickly after rumours circulated on Tuesday, and Lowe told of the reaction from a Spanish view-point.
"The reaction to the news of Ferguson's retirement was two-fold in Spain really," he added.
"The first one was the inevitable reaction of surprise and also more than anything else, admiration.
"A coach in charge for 26 years is simply impossible to imagine from a Spanish perspective. Bearing in mind the time Alex Ferguson has been in charge at Manchester United Real Madrid have had 25 coaches and Barcelona 14."
Lowe also added that he believed Ferguson's departure had been decided well before Wednesday's announcement.
"We know that Alex Ferguson went to see Guardiola in New York at least once probably twice," Lowe commented.
"The assumption there I suppose is they would have talked. So in that sense the fact that Guardiola hasn't turned up is one of two reasons.
"One, Manchester United decided that David Moyes was cut more from the same cloth as Ferguson and the other option is perhaps that Guardiola looked at his options and just decided, for reasons that now look logical with Bayern in the Champions League final, that they were a better option for him."
