Who would have thought a couple of seasons back, as Chelsea were on their way to another Premier League title, that two years on, the manager who got them that piece of silverware, would be called "Judas" by the same supporters that used to hold him in reverence and sing his name with great gusto.
Chelsea vs Manchester United highlights
Such is the fickle nature of football.
After the diabolical season of 2015-16, which saw Mourinho fired by Chelsea halfway, with the then defending champions lying in 16th position in the Premier League, the Blues have moved on to another manager and are on their way to a second EPL title in three years, while Jose Mourinho now manages one of the perceived title rivals.
That rival team – Manchester United – paid a visit to Stamford Bridge on Monday for an FA Cup quarterfinal clash, and Mourinho's tactics to try and stop Chelsea's best player from hurting them by hurting that very player physically, clearly, did not go down well with the Blues home fans.
Soon chants of "Judas", "It's all your fault," and "You're not special anymore" could be heard from the crowd, and Mourinho's reply was to hold up three fingers in recognition of the three titles that he has won for Chelsea, something no other manager has been able to achieve so far in the London club's history.
"The fans can call me what they want," Mourinho said. "I am a professional. I defend my club.
"Until the moment [Chelsea] have a manager that wins four Premier Leagues for them, I'm the No.1. When they have somebody who wins four Premier Leagues for them, I'll be No2.
"For this moment, 'Judas' is No1."
The typical Mourinho replies and verbal volleys would have had more of an effect had Manchester United come away from the FA Cup quarterfinal with a victory. However, Chelsea were the ones to seal a place in the semifinals, thanks to a goal from their world-class midfielder N'Golo Kante.
That result might have been different had Manchester United not had to play with ten men for the entire second half, after Ander Herrera was given his marching orders by Michael Oliver for a foul on Eden Hazard, who was repeatedly targeted by the United players.
While the foul for the second yellow was a soft one, it is difficult for Manchester United to justify the manner in which they targeted Hazard.
"The game was completely under control [before the red card]," Mourinho said. "They couldn't find what is their game. I keep saying their game is counter-attack and when a team closes the spaces in between the lines and closes the full-backs, they have no qualities to be dangerous.
"Everybody can analyse in different perspectives, everyone can do it in a different way, but I think we all watched the match until the red card. After the red card, then we can compare the decisions of these two yellow cards, in this case the second yellow card with ones that were not given.
"Compare Herrera's second yellow card with the foul a couple of minutes later when [Marcus] Rashford goes to attack the space and the Chelsea captain [Gary Cahill] grabs him, stops him in a counter-attack. Mr. Oliver does not give a card, not even a yellow."
