Mourinho describes ‘disaster’ of living in Manchester

Matt Stead

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is finding it hard to adjust to living away from his family for the first time and has described his current arrangement as “a disaster”.

The 53-year-old has been staying at the Lowry Hotel in the centre of Manchester since starting work at Old Trafford in July, with his wife and two children residing in the family’s London home.

The former Chelsea boss is unable to leave the hotel without the paparazzi following his every move, and Mourinho admits it is not the ideal set-up.

In an interview with Sky Sports ahead of tonight’s EFL Cup derby clash with Manchester City, the Portuguese said: “Buy a house? I do not know… I do not know.

“But the reality is that my daughter (Matilde) will be 20 next week. My son (Jose Jr) will be 17 in a couple of months. They are very stable… university in London, football in London, friends.

“So, they are at an age where they can’t chase me like they did before. So, for the first time, the family lives in a different way. We try to feel it, we try to see the evolution of our feelings and see how we cope with the situation.

“But maybe, if I can get a good apartment… not these giant houses that the press says I’m going to buy. I will never buy that. But if I find a nice apartment with a good connection from the garage to the apartment, maybe I do it – but I can’t cook!”

Mourinho acknowledges being followed by photographers comes with the job, but it is not helping his current situation.

“You know the history of the paparazzi,” he added. “For the hotel and the brand that sponsors me, the clothes brand, it’s amazing because they are there every day.

“Everybody knows the name of the hotel. Everybody knows the last arrivals of that brand. So, for them, it is amazing.

“For me, it’s a bit of a disaster because I want sometimes to walk a little bit and I can’t. I just want to cross the bridge and go to a restaurant. I can’t, so it is really bad.

“But I have my apps and I can ask for food to also be delivered, which I do sometimes.”