Mourinho gave up on Instagram 18 months ago and his eclectic 'following' list suggested it was mainly for brand purposes. Mourinho followed sponsors Hublot, Jaguar, Lipton Ice Tea and Heineken, as well as humanitarian accounts such as World Food Programme and Share the Meal. And Bryan Adams.
Instagram was a useful scouting app for Mourinho, though. He followed his daughter's boyfriend and, to a Manchester United player's hasty amazement, tuned into one of their banal live videos despite not following the player. The live ended once a user informed the player who had tuned in.
Mourinho was so meticulous in his scouting of opponents any flicker of ignorance at a press conference was barely believable. Particularly when he was asked whether Anthony Martial would stay after his agent Philippe Lamboley had claimed he wanted to leave.
There was a brief pause in Levi's Stadium in San Jose last summer. "I don't know what his agent told," Mourinho said. His arms remained crossed and he barely flexed a muscle.
"He said he wants to leave."
"Yeah, I would like to be in Los Angeles now and I am in San Jose," Mourinho languidly replied. "You cannot do whatever you want in life, I would love to arrive in Los Angeles, to train in Los Angeles and play all my five matches in Los Angeles, and then don't travel, don't change hotel and then go back to Manchester.
"I would like to play against Leicester on Sunday but I have to play on Friday, so you don't get always in life what you want."
The second of the five-game tour would be Martial's last in the United States. For a player whose teammates struggle to coax a smile out of him, Martial was beaming as he jauntily swaggered towards the United coach following the goalless draw. His partner, Melanie da Cruz, was due to give birth to their first son and he had received permission to fly to Paris.
Amid Martial's merriness, it was soon communicated to the British journalists present Mourinho was open to Martial leaving since he wanted out. That counter-briefed United's own outlook: Martial was not for sale.
Mourinho's stance became more extreme in The Big House in Michigan six days later, where his answers were as robust as Emily Maitlis' questions. He unloaded on the absent Martial and injured Antonio Valencia ('too much holiday'), the game with Liverpool 'gave me nothing at all', he 'wouldn't spend my money to see these teams' and the referee 'thought it was baseball'.
"He has the baby and after the baby is born - beautiful baby, full of health, thank god," Mourinho fumed on MUTV. "He should be here and he is not here."
By then, Mourinho had privately instructed United to sell Martial for going AWOL. Mourinho wanted United to make an example of Martial but was informed by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward Martial would not be sold. Mourinho discovered Martial was the favourite player of United co-chairman Joel Glazer and had suspicions Woodward was running scared of Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.
For Levy had called Woodward in June to enquire about Martial and Juan Mata. A senior United source said Woodward 'likes dealing' with Levy yet those close to Mourinho claim Woodward was panicked by Levy's telephone call.
Woodward's unwillingness to communicate with Levy convinced Mourinho Toby Alderweireld was unattainable. United only ever discussed a move for Alderweireld through intermediaries and a swap deal involving Martial was abandoned almost as quickly as it was mooted.
Come the final leg of the tour in Miami, the club informed the present pack Martial had been fined two weeks' wages. The briefing and counter-briefing continued upon the squad's return to the UK, when Martial tweeted: "My little Swan is fine, for the mom it was harder but thanks to God she's better now. Sorry but my family will always come first... Back tomorrow in Manchester."
Mourinho was never going to prevail in his conflict with Martial and his cult following. There was a detente upon the season opener and, for a talent indulged almost as much as Paul Pogba, Martial at least had the gumption to get going when the going got tough. He embarked on a career-best streak of six goals in five league starts last autumn.
With United 1-0 down in the second-half at Chelsea in October of last year, Mourinho stood and shouted instructions at Martial, who nodded. His two goals within the next 20-odd minutes suggested the message was received. Later later that day, Mourinho celebrated the Frenchman's harrying of Cesar Azpilicueta by crossing the white line to backslap Martial.
There was more cheerleading from Mourinho the next week as Martial and Luke Shaw, his one-time whipping boys, chased back with United holding on against Everton. During the Etihad derby, Mourinho offered words of encouragement after Martial miscontrolled within earshot: "It's okay, keep going." Martial later scored.
Mourinho admitted he placed 'barriers' to develop Martial. He doubted his suitability as a left winger and opined Martial was not 'very, very, very focused on his defensive duties'. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer voiced similar reservations.
After hands around his neck, Martial has the arm around the shoulder, though he was scolded for a statuesque 'warm-up' against Chelsea in April. Martial's goalscoring under Solskjaer last season was intermittent and his more avuncular manager teased him about it at a press conference.
Martial still requested the number nine in the wake of Romelu Lukaku's August transfer and the eight-week lay-off with a thigh injury has only reiterated his influence. United have scored more than two in a quarter of their Premier League fixtures this season and Martial started in all of them as the centre forward.
He has got what he wanted.