Jose Mourinho holds regrets from his eventful career (Picture: Getty Images)
Jose Mourinho looks back with regret on re-joining Chelsea from Real Madrid in 2013, saying it was a mistake.
The iconic Portuguese boss had a brilliant first spell at Stamford Bridge from 2004-07 before leaving for Inter Milan and then moving to Real Madrid in 2010.
He spent three seasons in Spain where he battled against a great Barcelona side and got the better of them in 2012 when he won La Liga.
However, he was returning to west London a year later, going on to win a third Premier League title in 2015.
He now wishes he hadn’t left the Santiago Bernabeu when he did, though, remembering Real Madrid president Florentino Perez trying and failing to convince him to stay.
‘The “no” to Florentino Perez (is one regret),’ Mourinho told Corriere dello Sport. ‘He said to me: “Don’t leave, you’ve done the hard part and the best part is yet to come.”
‘I knew it was true, but I wanted to return to Chelsea after three years of great challenges in Spain.’
Mourinho’s Fenerbahce are second in the Turkish Super Lig (Picture: Getty Images)
On regrets, the current Fenerbahce boss also looked to the Europa League final in 2023, which his Roma team lost to Sevilla.
He wishes he left the club straight after that game, but he stayed on and was eventually fired in January 2024 after a chaotic first half of the season.
The loss to Sevilla in Budapest was followed by Mourinho confronting and abusing referee Anthony Taylor in a car park, but it is not that which is standing out as a regret for him.
‘I have to talk about Budapest,’ he said. ‘Not because of the confusion with Anthony Taylor, but because I didn’t leave straight away. I should have left Roma straight away. I didn’t and it was a mistake.’
Mourinho has ruffled feathers with comments on Turkish football (Picture: Getty Images)
The 61-year-old’s Fenerbahce side return to Turkish Super Lig action on 5 January against Hatayspor, heading into the new year second in the table, eight points behind Galatasaray.
How long he remains in Istanbul is yet to be seen, but he is already eyeing up a move into international football.
‘I want to play a European Championship or a World Cup and unite a country around a team, as I have already done many times with the clubs,’ he said.
‘I want to do it for football and what this sport represents. It will be incredible.
‘I love football and my work. I don’t want to wait for the ideal opportunity, the perfect place, and even less, take a sabbatical. I know many like it, or at least, this is what they say.’