An underappreciated factor in the many successes Jose Mourinho has had is that he was always such a hot commodity in the job market that he could choose ascending teams to manage. Then he’d put the finishing touches on a core of standout players approaching their prime and claim the spoils.
This is the prerogative of the super-manager. Much like Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp will probably never again settle for a job that doesn’t position them for immediate success, there is a self-fulfilling prophecy in this cycle. Super-manager takes over a budding super-team; collects a bunch of prizes; raises his stature even further; ensures that he’ll only work for super-teams, and so on.