Jose Mourinho insists he wants to see out the remainder of his contract at Chelsea, but admits he could be tempted to move to France in the future.
The 51-year-old coach has enjoyed success throughout his managerial career, beginning when he took the reins at Porto in his homeland back in 2002. During his two years at the Estadio Dragao, the Portuguese won two league titles, one domestic cup, the Uefa Cup and, most impressively of all, the UEFA Champions League in 2004.
This prompted Roman Abramovich to lure him to London and Chelsea, and he was an instant hit in England. Mourinho spent a little over three years in the Premier League, winning two league titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup, before he was controversially sacked in September 2007 after falling out with the Russian billionaire.
Mourinho sat out the remainder of that season before returning the following term with Internazionale, and during his two years in Italy, he won two Serie A titles, the Coppa Italia and another Champions League, which formed part of the 2010 treble. He left the San Siro when Real Madrid came calling, and he won the Spanish title in 2012.
When it became clear he was to leave the Bernabeu last summer, there appeared to be two clubs in the frame for his services. Mourinho eventually returned to Stamford Bridge, signing a four-year contract, and he has always maintained this was his preferred choice. However, it has also been widely reported that Paris St Germain were interested.
It would have been quite a coup for the mega-rich Ligue 1 side to have lure the self-proclaimed Special One, who has led Chelsea to the head of the Premier League table. And whilst he insists he sees his future at his current club, he admits he could be tempted to try his hand in France in the future if the league continues to develop.
“I want to stay at Chelsea, I have a four year-contract, then we will see,” he told Canal+. “Maybe I could work in France in the future, why not? But currently I believe it is a league that doesn’t have the same emotion as England. It is easy to know who will finish in first and second positions and at this moment in my career I need a bit more.”
PSG eventually turned to Laurent Blanc, and this appears to be a decent choice as they are currently five points clear of Monaco at the top of the table, whilst they are all but in the last eight of the Champions League following a 4-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen last week. Their talisman has undoubtedly been Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is enjoying a sensational season with 22 goals in 25 league matches and 10 in six European games.
The Sweden international had a season with Mourinho at Inter, and with Chelsea in need of attacking reinforcements, he has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge at the end of the campaign. However, as much as the Portuguese coach admires the 32-year-old striker, he feels it would be impossible to lure him from the French capital.
“Zlatan Ibrahimovic? It’s impossible,” added Mourinho, who was speaking ahead of Chelsea’s resumption of the Champions League when they take on Galatasaray in Turkey on Wednesday night. “He’s happy in Paris. I know because we’re in contact, we’re friends. With their financial potential, I don’t think Paris will ever open the door for him to leave.”
