Jose Mourinho Recalls the Moment He Rejected the Chance to ‘kill’ Barcelona

• Mourinho recently revealed he rejected the chance to stay at Real Madrid longer
• The former Chelsea boss won one La Liga title in three years with Los Blancos
• Florentino Perez wanted Real Madrid to dominate the Spanish top flight after Pep Guardiola’s departure

Jose Mourinho gave a fascinating account of how he rejected the chance to dominate La Liga after the departure of Pep Guardiola.

The Portuguese tactician famously managed Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, winning La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

Fans with long memories will also recall how Mourinho carved up an iconic rivalry with Pep Guardiola, who was then the manager of Barcelona.

At the peak of European football, the El Clasico (Real Madrid vs Barcelona) match was the most-watched derby in the world because of everything that was at stake at the time.

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From Cristiano Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi to Jose Mourinho versus Pep Guardiola, the iconic rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona peaked in the early 2010s.

The 2011/12 season marked Guardiola’s final season in charge of Barcelona, as the Spaniard decided to take a sabbatical after four successful years with the Catalan giants, where he won 14 trophies.

Mourinho on Guardiola’s exit

Following Guardiola’s departure, sections of fans expected Mourinho to dominate the Spanish top flight with Real Madrid.

Little did fans know that the former Porto boss also had an exit plan, as he detailed exclusively on the FIVE YouTube channel.

“Maybe because of that pressure, after the second year Pep went on a sabbatical,” Mourinho said.

He also detailed the conversation he had with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who was keen on seeing The Special One stay to ‘kill’ off Barcelona’s dominance.

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Mourinho added, “After the third season, I spoke to the president and told him, ‘I think it is better for me to go, join Chelsea and change a little more’.

“He told me, ‘No Jose, don’t go, this is the time we are going to win it. The most difficult time is gone’. I said, ‘President, I agree [that the most difficult time is gone], but it is also time for me to go’.”

In 2013, Mourinho left Real Madrid and re-joined Chelsea for a second stint, where he won another league title before his eventual dismissal in 2015.

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In the same interview, Mourinho spoke on some of the jobs he turned down.

According to the two-time Champions League winner, getting sacked by Roma ‘hurt the most’ because he believes he gave the Gialorissi everything, including turning down opportunities to stay at the Italian club.

“In these three years, I refused to become the new Portugal head coach with the best national team ever!” He revealed.