LONDON — josé Mourinho has revealed that he turned down Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) twice in the past and said he would only consider taking charge of the club in the future if he was sacked as Chelsea boss.
Mourinho said both previous approaches had come during former PSG sporting director Leonardo’s reign, indicating that he had first been offered the job in 2011 before Carlo Ancelotti took charge and then again in 2013 prior to the appointment of current coach Laurent Blanc.
“I turned down Paris twice,” he told TF1. “I think I can say I was the first option for Leonardo. Before Carlo Ancelotti? Yes. Before Laurent Blanc? Yes. I really thought about it, but I was at Real Madrid the first time and the second time I returned to Chelsea.”
He said he was currently “very happy” with the Blues, but would not rule out a future move to the French capital should things go wrong at Stamford Bridge.
“If Chelsea sack me? Yes. But, otherwise, I am unmovable,” he said. “I do not want to leave. Paris is not an option, and I will not get fired because results are good.”
He added: “I am now at a club I want to be at. But football is football. There will come a day when I’m told: ‘José, it’s over!’ I understand that — I am a man of football. I will respect that decision.”
Chelsea eliminated PSG from the Champions League in dramatic circumstances last season, but Mourinho believes Blanc’s players are capable of going all the way this time.
“The players have experience,” he said. “They played a quarterfinal last year. They won against Barcelona. I think they have all the conditions necessary — but the Champions League is the Champions League.”
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He added: “I think Paris is in good hands. Laurent is a good coach, and the president now knows football well. Leonardo left a fantastic basis for the club.”
Mourinho also said he had no regrets about branding himself the “Special One” upon his arrival at Chelsea a decade ago.
“I think everyone has the right to think he is special,” he said. “It is a great quality to be positive. I’m like that.” — ESPNFC
