Jose Mourinho was honest when remembering his decision to leave
Inter for Real Madrid in the summer of 2010, admitting he was ‘was afraid to go back to Milan because of the emotions’.
The Portuguese coach spent two years with the Nerazzurri from 2008 to 2010, guiding them to the Scudetto in his first season and the Treble in his second, instantly becoming a club legend. He quickly left after the Champions League triumph, making the jump to Real Madrid.
Mourinho spent three years in the Spanish capital before an eight-year spell in the Premier League with Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham. In the summer of 2021, he joined
Roma and secured the Conference League title in his debut campaign.
Speaking on Sky Sports Italia via
TMW, Mourinho opened up about his move from Inter to Real Madrid, explaining the circumstances behind the decision and why he was so certain of the jump.
“I’m always very honest with others and with myself. I could have gone to Real Madrid after my first season with Inter, but I had signed to stay more than a year. I had an incredible relationship, not only with the president, but also with his wife and children.
“I went to Moratti’s house at the end of the first season and we came to the conclusion that I would stay one more year. It wasn’t victory or defeat in the Champions League final that would’ve decided my life, I already knew what I was going to do, and I wanted to go to Real Madrid.
“The opportunity came for the second time and I wanted to go, it was a moment in my career where I told myself I had to. They’re the biggest club in the world, there is no history, but I had that thing of winning the Serie A title.
“Beyond winning or not winning the Champions League, there was a basic job that would have gone to another coach, everything was perfect.
“
It would have been more comfortable for me to stay at Inter instead of competing with Barcelona, I would have won another easy Scudetto, we would have gone on to become Club World Champions but it wouldn’t have meant anything to me.
“The smart players already knew what I was going to decide, after the Champions League final I didn’t go back to Milan because I was afraid that emotions would change, and I would never go to Real Madrid again.
“I refused to sign the contract with Real Madrid before the final against Bayern Munich, but I was afraid to go back to Milan because of the emotions.”
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