Jose Mourinho has said the local junior club president who this week “revealed” that he was leaving Real Madrid is too fond of the media spotlight, and stressed that he will not decide his future until this season ends.
Jose Mourinho maintains that no decision will be taken on his future until the summer Canillas president Manuel Alvarez caused a media storm on Wednesday when he told Spanish radio that Mourinho would definitely not be at the Bernabeu next season.
That sparked speculation that the Portuguese had already agreed to take charge of either Chelsea or Paris Saint-Germain.
Mourinho told reporters at Friday’s press briefing that Canillas, where the Real coach’s son plays, had a place in his heart, but said Alvarez had spoken out of turn.
“Canillas is almost like a second home for me and for my son,” he said. “But it has a problem – a president who loves the media. He is a fantastic person in the way he treats me and my son, but he has this little problem. The problem is not mine.”
Mourinho stuck to the position he laid out after the recent Champions League quarter-final second leg at Galatasaray, when he said he would sit down for a “friendly chat” about his future with Madrid president Florentino Perez when the season was over.
“I cannot say yet if I will be here next season,” he said. “My relationship with the president and Jose Angel [Sanchez, Madrid’s general director], with everyone at the club, is very good.
“That means we can sit down and analyse things calmly, to decide what is the best for Madrid, for me, for the president. Usually, there are problems between clubs and coaches, but in this case there are none.”
And he rejected the suggestion that he was discontented, saying: “I am not unhappy at Real Madrid.
“I could like something more or less, but that happens everywhere. There is no such thing as the perfect club, or the perfect coach. The fundamental thing is to try and end the season well. We are two games from the [Champions League] final at Wembley.
“Then, when the pressure of the games has passed, we will sit down and arrive at a conclusion.”
Mourinho, who was making his first press appearance since Madrid were drawn to face Borussia Dortmund in this season’s Champions League semi-finals, suggested that the German side’s boss Jurgen Klopp was another who talked too much to the press.
“Since the draw was made, he has spoken every day,” the Portuguese said. “I have been silent. On Tuesday, we will talk about that game. We have spent these two weeks preparing for it.”
Those preparations have been complicated by issues at right-back, with Michael Essien receiving medical attention back at his parent club Chelsea this week, and Alvaro Arbeloa suspended for the first leg in Dortmund.
Sergio Ramos, who looks to set to start that game on the flank, will be rested for Saturday’s La Liga game at home to Real Betis, Mourinho said.
Midfielders Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira will also not be in the squad for Saturday’s game, while Iker Casillas will again be on the bench.
Kaka is fit again and could come in, while Jose Callejon is tipped to start on the wing, given that Madrid have given up on the league title, with Barcelona 13 points clear and seven games remaining.
“This is the first time that I have been so detached from the national championship,” Mourinho said.
“If you asked a million madridistas if they preferred to beat Betis or Borussia, they would all say Borussia. I want win both games, but the situation allows us to give some players a rest.”
[Soccernet]
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