Jose Mourinho returns to his former stomping ground, Stamford Bridge, on Sunday evening as Manchester United look to get back to winning ways in the Premier League.
In an interview with Sky Sports, the Portuguese boss confirmed that he was sacked by Chelsea in December last year and did not leave by mutual consent, as the club had said. Mourinho was dismissed just seven months into the start of the 2015-16 season, as Chelsea tottered around the relegation zone with a massive nine losses in 16 matches.
Mourinho said, “The owner, he decided to sack me, but to be sacked is football. Many of the best managers have had their moment to be sacked. It was not mutual consent. That was in my first period at Chelsea when I agreed it was time to change.”
As he returns to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Mourinho is adamant that there is no bad blood between him and Roman Abramovich, or the Chelsea fans. He went on to add that his success at Chelsea means that the club cannot delete him from their history.
He added: “When I leave a club when in two different periods I gave titles and gave the fans some of the best moments that they have had then you leave with the feeling ‘I have done my job’. I don’t think they want to, but even if they want to, they couldn’t delete me from Chelsea FC history. They belong to my history too. No bad feelings.”
Mourinho also said that he was prepared to wait for the right opportunity before taking up his next job and that he was lucky to “have a big club like Manchester United.” He also insisted that he intends to stay at Old Trafford for many, many years to come. And as he leads the Red Devils to Stamford Bridge, the United supporters will be hoping that he can get one over his former employers come Sunday.
United head into the tie on Sunday after a confidence boosting win against Fenerbahce in the Europa League, and Mourinho will be eager to continue the winning momentum. The Red Devils currently lie seventh in the Premier League table with 14 points, two points behind their hosts this weekend and five behind leaders Manchester City.
