JOSE MOURINHO has revealed that he “made a mistake” snubbing the Portuguese national team to stay at Roma.
The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss, 61, was sacked by Roma in January following a string of poor results.
Mourinho’s final weeks and months in the Italian capital were littered with bizarre incidents – from calling himself “Harry Potter” to frequent red cards.
With the dust having now settled on his stint in the Eternal City, the Portuguese has admitted that he should have left to take charge of his national team.
Roberto Martinez landed the Portugal job in January 2023, following Fernando Santos’ exit after the 2022 World Cup the previous month.
Discussing his regret, Mourinho told the Korean EA Sports FC YouTube channel: “It’s normal that I would go with Portugal.
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“I had the chance to go twice, but they didn’t come at the right time for me.
“I got emotional when I didn’t accept the last offer, because I decided to stay at Roma and I think I made a mistake.
“Because now Portugal has a fantastic team, one of the best, in the top five.
“I knew it, but I felt a great connection with Roma, with the fans, so I didn’t want to make that decision.”
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Despite his regret, Mourinho believes that it will be a case of third time lucky and that the job will come around again.
He added: “The Portugal opportunity has come twice, but I think a third one will come too and I will take it. Hoping that the generation I have will be as strong as this one.”
Last week it was claimed that Saudi side Al-Qadsiah want to make Mourinho their manager ahead of next season.
The former Roma boss has previously rejected Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Shabab.
Since being out of work, he has been racking his brain on new tactical innovations.
Last month he revealed that he believes a manager will one day not play with a goalkeeper as they attempt to score late on in a game.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
