Mourinho admits he was fired, not ‘mutually consented’
Jose Mourinho has finally admitted that he was sacked as Chelsea manager in 2015, not ‘mutually consented’.
Mourinho’s second reign as Blues boss ended in ignominious fashion in December of last year, when he left his post mere months after winning the Premier League title.
Mourinho’s second departure was billed as mutual consent but he admitted in his press conference ahead of his return to Stamford Bridge with Manchester United he was sacked.
There are no hard feelings, though, and Mourinho is looking forward to seeing some of the lifelong friends he made at the club.
Owner Roman Abramovich is not among them, with Mourinho revealing: “He was never my friend. We always had the relationship of owner-manager. Very respectful relationship. We were never friends. We were never close to each other.
“When some managers leave clubs, they like to, I don’t know the right saying, but in Portuguese it is ‘wash the dirty clothes’. Go back and speak and speak and speak.
“I leave clubs with a very good feeling, the feeling of doing everything to succeed. I gave everything to the club. I don’t like to go back and speak specially about the bad things.
“I want to keep the good things – and at Chelsea I had so many good things, in terms of results, friends I have for life, an amazing empathy with the supporters. The supporters didn’t change their relationship with me because of last season and a couple of months of bad results.”
Champions in 2014-15, Chelsea’s start to last season was shocking, the Blues losing nine of their first 16 Premier League games while Mourinho’s position was also undermined by an unseemly dispute with former club doctor Eva Carneiro.
Mourinho does not feel it has affected him, saying: “That period came in a part of my career when I was already a grown man. I was not a kid.
“I was lucky to have a big club like Man Utd, who focused on my career and not my last three months. I was lucky enough to have the chance to stay in the competition I most love and to stay in a big club like Man Utd, with a big project, with a big challenge like I have in my hands. Everything is positive.”