Portuguese mastermind Jose Mourinho has had a trophy-laden career managing the likes of FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid in the past. However, the 53-year-old feels like he is at the peak of his career at new club Manchester United.
Mourinho was appointed as manger of Manchester United at the end of May this year, and there are huge expectations from the Portuguese going into the 2016-17 football season. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Mourinho made it clear that he envisions managing for 15 more years and insisted that he seems himself as being at his peak at Man United.
“I have been in some of the biggest clubs in the world,” he said. “This is like the top of my career, but it comes in the early stage of my career. Because as a manager I am really young, and I think I have the best years of my career to come up.
“I was not joking [when I say 15 more years as a manager]. 53 plus 15 is 68, so I would say 14, 15, 16 more years, but I don’t see myself going home before 70.”
The past year has been a whirlwind journey for Jose Mourinho. Fresh off winning the Premier League in 2014-15, Chelsea dropped like dead weight in the new season. Mourinho was sacked in December, with the Blues in 16th place and just a point above the relegation zone after 16 matches.
The slow downfall of former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was running in parallel with the Special One’s difficult time at Stamford Bridge. The speculation surrounding Mourinho joining Manchester United gathered pace steadily, and by the time the season was over, it was an inevitable conclusion.
Mourinho was confirmed as the manager of Man United on the 27th of May 2016 and has since had a busy summer. The club completed the signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Eric Bailly and Paul Pogba for a world-record fee. The Portuguese won the Community Shield in his first competitive game as Manchester United manager and started the Premier League season with a 3-1 win against Bournemouth.
The Red Devils will be facing Southampton on Friday and a win would add further substance to Mourinho’s claims that he is indeed at the top of his game.
