Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho in an interview for Italian Corriere dello Sport he spoke openly about the key moments of his career. He specifically referred to the summer of 2013, when he decided to leave Real Madrid, despite club president Florentino Perez’s pleas for him to stay.
I then said ‘no’ to Florentino Perez, who was telling me to stay at Real Madrid, and I still regret that. Perez then told me: ‘Don’t go, you’ve done the hardest part and now comes the best part. Stay at Real Madrid.’ But I wanted to return to Chelsea after three difficult years in Madrid and I made the biggest mistake because I told him I was leavingadmitted Mourinho.
Three years at Real Madrid
Mourinho took over Real Madrid after an extremely successful period in Interwhere he won in 2010 Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup. He spent three years in Madrid, during which he won with the club:
- La Liga (2011/2012),
- Spanish Cup (2010/2011),
- Spanish Super Cup (2012).
Despite the trophies he won, his time at Real was marked by tensions with the players and the media, as well as an intense rivalry with Barcelona under the leadership of Pep Guardiola.
Back to Chelsea
After leaving Real, Mourinho returned to Chelseawhere he had already left a deep mark by winning two Premier League titles in his first term. However, he now admits the move was driven by a desire to return to familiar ground after challenging years in Spain.
His decision, he now says, may have cost him the opportunity to achieve even greater success with Real Madrid. Only now do I see what we achieved then and what could have followed. I regret that decision, but you learn something from every mistakehe concluded Mourinho.
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