Legendary manager Jose Mourinho has revealed to Rio Ferdinand that he turned down the opportunity to coach Portugal before he was sacked by AS Roma.
Mourinho Tells Ferdinand He Turned Down Portugal
Despite leading the Giallorossi to their first European trophy in six decades in the form of the 2022 UEFA Conference League title, AS Roma sacked Jose Mourinho last month to replace him with club legend Daniele De Rossi.
But the Portuguese coach has now revealed that he turned down a lucrative managerial role in order to fulfill his duties in the Italian capital.
Speaking to Rio Ferdinand on the Vibe with Five podcast, Mourinho was asked about his Roma dismissal, to which the two-time Champions League winner responded: “[It was the] owner’s decision and you have to respect it. The fans are always the heart of a football club. Without them, there is no football club. But there is an ownership and when they decide, you have to respect it.”
🇵🇹 | José Mourinho talks about turning down the Portugal job in a teaser for his upcoming interview with Rio Ferdinand.
“I refused great working opportunities, the first one was very, very hard to refuse because it was Portugal”.
— Próxima Jornada (@ProximaJornada1) February 15, 2024
“I can say it was the one that hurt me more. If you ask me why, I gave everything; I gave my heart; I even gave [up] some options that could be considered not very clever from a professional point of view. I refused great working opportunities.
“The first one was very, very hard to refuse because it was Portugal. With probably the best national team ever, three years before a World Cup. Then I had a big one from Saudi, I didn’t hide it at the time because it was really big.
“Normally I’m very pragmatic in my choices, I’m very professional in my choices. I try to always be very emotionally controlled. You could see that for example when I left other clubs after winning finals. In this case I was not pragmatic, I was emotional – I gave everything.
“So in the end, when I left, I left hurt. I have the great feeling that I gave so much happiness to the people. Because two European finals in a row doesn’t happen often, especially in a club like Roma without a big history of European success.
Where do you think Mourinho’s next managerial role will be?
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