MADRID: Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has still not made up his mind about his future and will only do so once the season has finished, he said yesterday.
“I have not taken any decision on whether I am going or not,” said the Portuguese at a press conference ahead of Real’s home clash with Valladolid today.
“I can confirm that there are still five matches left in the league and a Cup final to play and, after those games, I will sit down with the president and (the director general) Jose Angel (Sanchez) and we will speak about my future.” Mourinho had dropped a major hint as to his future in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal exit at the hands of Borussia Dortmund when he complained of being hated in Spain. “I know that in England I am loved,” he said at the time. “I am loved by the fans and the media who are fair with me. They criticize me and give me credit when I deserve it.
“I know I am loved by the clubs, especially one. In Spain it is different because people hate me,” he added, referring to the media.
The former Chelsea boss, who is being heavily linked with a return to Stamford Bridge, responded to criticism of his reign at the Santiago Bernabeu, having so far failed to go beyond the semifinals of the Champions League in three seasons.
“The record-breaking Liga season belongs to me. Only when a team comes along and collects more than 100 points and scores more than 121 goals will that be wiped out,” he said, referring to last season’s domestic title success.
“We won the Copa del Rey (in 2011) for the first time in 20 years. That is because it is not easy to do so.” However, in another hint at his poor relationship with goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas, Mourinho admitted failing to bring Diego Lopez to the club sooner was a source of disappointment to him. “If I could have been more demanding at the end of my first season, I would have signed Diego Lopez then. I wanted him but didn’t do enough to get him, which is a shame,” he said of the ‘keeper signed from Sevilla in January after Casillas succumbed to a hand injury.
