When Jose Mourinho first arrived in England 20 years ago, he dubbed himself the 'Special One'.
It is a nickname that has followed the 60-year-old around in the years since but, fast-forward to now, and it's a label in need of updating.
Mourinho is, rightly, considered one of the best managers of his generation.
He has won silverware at the likes of Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Roma throughout his glittering career, both destroying and building empires in equal unison.
Jose Mourinho is a man suffering from a decline in the wake of his departure from Roma
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Yet the brutal fact of the matter is that Mourinho, at least for now, looks like yesterday's man.
Charm has been replaced by snarls, his hair has gone from black to grey and Mourinho can't seem to hit the same notes of old as he enters the twilight years of his managerial career.
He won Roma the UEFA Conference League in 2022, while they also made the final of the Europa League last year.
But the owners of the Italian side felt he'd taken the team as far as they could.
Therefore, they brought the axe crashing down. It was a surprise for Mourinho, who was tearful upon meeting fans in the wake of his dismissal.
He will point to the European trophy he won for the club and insist his time at the Stadio Olimpico was a success.
But Mourinho is a man in decline - and that's something the 60-year-old can't escape as he plots his next move.
Looking back, the veteran has never been the same since his time at Real Madrid.
Mourinho won LaLiga and the Copa del Rey during his time in Spain, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Mesut Ozil key cogs in his machine.
While he achieved success at the Bernabeu, however, he also made plenty of enemies - including club icons such as Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos.
That job took a toll on Mourinho. It was the first time he'd lost a dressing room and it has changed him, for the worse, in the time since.
When he returned to Chelsea, he won another Premier League title.
But he fell out with many key players, including Eden Hazard, and the squad ended up downing tools. When he was sacked in December 2015, Chelsea were very much under threat of relegation.
Mourinho landed the Manchester United job the following year, with the Red Devils confident the Special One could be special once more.
His time at Old Trafford started positively with the club winning the EFL Cup and Europa League.
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Jose Mourinho has never been the same since clashing with club legends at Real Madrid
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However, Mourinho was never able to assemble a team capable of challenging Manchester City for the biggest titles in the land.
Again, his dark and gloomy attitude behind the scenes came back to bite him.
Mourinho angered the United board by consistently moaning about his need for reinforcements, despite the club giving him the backing he craved.
And brutal treatment of Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw, among others, meant few tears were shed when he was shown the door.
Many thought they'd seen the last of Mourinho in the Premier League after that.
But Tottenham, star-struck by the 60-year-old's past achievements, appointed him as manager in 2019.
Jose Mourinho's future in football is up in the air following his crushing sacking from Roma
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Not even Mourinho could win the club a trophy, however.
The football at Tottenham was turgid, even if Harry Kane became a complete player, and he was sacked before a Carabao Cup final showdown with Manchester City just 18 months later.
With Mourinho now unemployed, it will be fascinating to see what the future holds.
Saudi Arabia is one option but, with players disgruntled in the Middle East, it may not hold as much appeal as it did a few months ago.
There's talk of Newcastle but, even if the Toon were to sack Eddie Howe, there's no guarantee Mourinho would coax the best from the current squad.
He is a man in limbo and, with the clock ticking, his stock has never fallen so low.
