Jose Mourinho is an imposing character who usually gets his own way.
But the now-Roma boss has had to manage disappointment in the past when certain decisions have gone against him. Back in 2009, the 59-year-old was in charge of Inter Milan and star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic wanted out after attracting the attention of then serial winners, Barcelona.
The situation is not too dissimilar to the one Erik ten Hag currently finds himself in at Manchester United, with Cristiano Ronaldo recently rocking the club by announcing he wants to leave this summer and play for a side competing in the Champions League.
Mourinho was put out by Ibrahimovic's desire to leave and eventually opted to let the player go, deciding it would be better to part company with a man who wasn't on board with his project than force him to stay.
But Mourinho was determined to ensure Ibrahimovic was replaced with quality as he made his way out the door and struck a £40million swap deal with Barcelona that saw Samuel Eto'o - a man who was later instrumental in Inter winning Serie A twice and the Champions League - move in the opposite direction.
Mourinho said of the situation back in 2009: "I was a bit angry because no coach is happy to lose Ibrahimovic. But no one is not happy to have Eto'o – we have lost a top player but we have taken another one.
"If I talk as a coach and a man on the pitch, I say that I don't want to lose this player. If I talk as a manager, I say that Inter have done great business: if Ibra is worth €50m, Eto'o is not worth 49. This is a €100m deal for Inter."
On Ibrahimovic's transfer to Barca, Mourinho added: "He's going to a club in which I worked for four years, Barcelona are an extraordinary club and he will be happy.
"I didn't give him any advice but I spoke to him a few days before the final decision. I told him that if he wins the Champions League with Barcelona he won't be doing anything extraordinary, seeing as the Catalans have won it twice in three years. I like doing something extraordinary, not what's normal.
"He had this dream and wanted to go. He told me he would miss me and I told him exactly the same thing."
Ronaldo is yet to strike a deal with any club following his admission he wants to leave United, meaning Ten Hag has yet been unable to work up a similar swap transfer or close in on a replacement.
But Ten Hag will have to take a leaf from Mourinho's book if Ronaldo does indeed get his own way, with Ajax star Anthony at the top of his wishlist should the five-time Ballon d'Or winner leave.
A Ronaldo exit would leave United worryingly short up front, despite Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho all performing well so far in pre-season.
