Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho does not say anything to the press unless there is a reason, which is why his comments today made me do a double take when he said that he will stay at Chelsea as long as owner Roman Abramovich “wants him”.
Chelsea won the league for the fifth time on Sunday, their third under the Special OneP, as they claimed the double following Capital One Cup final success in March.
Despite winning six trophies in three years during his first stint at the club between 2004-07 Mourinho fell out with Abramovich and departed “by mutual consent” in September 2007.
However, he returned in June 2013 and has now pledged to remain at Stamford Bridge until he is told otherwise.
“I stay here as long as Mr Abramovich wants me,” he said. “The day he tells me to go, I go.
“Remember, he is the man who won every title at Chelsea. If he has all the replicas, he needs a big house.”
My question is why go down that path? Yes I understand that Mourinho, as all Chelsea managers do, serves at the pleasure of Abramovich. But what was to be gained by opening up the possibility of leaving Stamford Bridge?
A fixture of the Mourinho reigns at Chelsea (first time), Inter and Real Madrid was that he engaged in internal battles to consolidate and grow his power base. At Chelsea, Mourinho is part of the team that makes decisions on contracts and transfers. He is not the only voice. And that has helped him and he has been able to focus entirely on the players and the training pitch this season and the result has been runaway champions.
What do you make of Mourinho’s comments? Am I making too much of them?
