Amid Mauricio Pochettino sack pressure, Mourinho fires clear new job message
Jose Mourinho will not be rushing into any jobs before the end of the season, the former Chelsea boss has explained. Having been sacked by Roma in January, the Special One has already been linked with plenty of top jobs across the world but is yet to make a decisive move.
“I’m ready to start and sometimes when you end in a club you feel the need of a rest, of a think, you know, process things,” he told Fabrizio Romano. “In this case, one day after I left I was ready to go.”
The 61-year-old was dismissed by the Friedkin brothers shortly after the turn of the year with Roma struggling in ninth. As one of the most well-paid coaches in Italy, and boasting the third-highest wage bill across the division, Mourinho was sacked from his third job in just over five years.
As Chelsea prepare to assess Mauricio Pochettino at the end of his first 12 months in charge, something that was always part of the plan for the club, Mourinho’s availability has gathered plenty of attention online. Before the international break there were loud chants for the three-time Premier League winner during a 2-2 draw against Brentford, with pressure ramping up on Pochettino.
Mourinho, who is now eight years on from his last league title – in the 2014/15 season with Chelsea – but remains a tantalising figure to those supporters keen to see an identity back at the club. Despite waning returns domestically, Mourinho is planning to come back into the spotlight.
“I feel strong, I feel good,” he said. “I love the work, I’m really ready but I don’t want to make the wrong choice. I cannot accept something just becasue of the feeling and because of the passion to be back so I have to be patient.”
However, it’s unlikely that he takes on a post before the 2024/25 campaign. “Normally, we are in March, is something going to happen in March or April? It’s difficult, very, very difficult. So my objective is to start next summer,” he added.
Earlier this month he said that he would, “work tomorrow,” when asked during a visit to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. “I’m not in rest mode,” he revealed to beIN Sports. “I want to work. I just don’t want to make the wrong decision. I have to wait for the right one and the one that motivates me. If I could work tomorrow, I would work tomorrow.”
Speaking to Sky Sports, he added: “I hope [to be back managing soon]. Roma was great to get to two European finals in two years and that’s hard. But now I have to wait for the right opportunity. I want to work tomorrow if possible, but I don’t want to make the wrong decision.”
He has also reiterated his freedom to take on any project with no call made yet on where he might go. “Zero, zero,” he said at a Moto GP event in his homeland. “I don’t have a club, I’m free. But I want to work, in the summer I want to work.”
He admitted to Romano that it might still be too soon to move to the Saudi Pro League despite offers in the past year. “If you ask me in the future, experience taught me to never say never but if you ask me why I’m travelling today to Saudi, I’m travelling today to Saudi because I’m going to enjoy three days watching boxing, watching Formula One, being with some friends,” he explained.
“It is not because I’m going to sign any contracts because now I have time until the end of the season to make the right decision for me.” He also shut down expectations that he takes on the role in charge of Portugal – currently managed by Roberto Martinez
“To coach a national team tomorrow is an objective,” Mourinho admitted. “If you ask me tomorrow, I’m not sure I was going to be happy. If you tell me before the World Cup, before the Euros, before the Copa America, before the African Cup [of Nations], I would say yes.
“But two years waiting for that work, I don’t know. I think one day maybe I accept but I don’t know that I was going to enjoy it.”
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