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Jose Mourinho was part of an interesting interview with Clare Balding last week, with a one-on-one chat on BT Sport where he shed light on many topics, from the possibility of signing Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi for Chelsea to his preference of the Premier League over La Liga.
The Chelsea boss spoke to Balding for a Christmas Day special programme ‘Clare Balding Meets,', which was part of a series of interviews that includes one interview featuring former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
On signing Messi
When asked if there was ever chance for Chelsea to sign Messi, the Portuguese said, “No I have no chance of that.”
Chelsea were said to have agreed to activate Messi’s buyout clause of £200m, and last month the move was supposed to be seen through next summer. Messi was ‘reportedly’ keen to be reunited with his close friend and former team-mate Cesc Fabregas, who had left the Catalans for Chelsea last season.
"Because at this moment there is financial fair play and with the financial fair play we have to follow certain rules, certain numbers and we obviously have no conditions to buy, as you say a ‘super amazing player’ paid with ‘super amazing numbers’ that Chelsea at this moment we cannot do."
On how his wife helped him with his decision to not manage England
Mourinho was considering to take over the charge of the England national team back in 2007 after the FA had revealed their interest on him. However, he instead moved to Italy to manage Inter Milan. It was Matilde, Mourinho’s wife, who influenced his decision.
"She was right. It was too early for me," he said. "I love the pressure of the day by day, the training, the travelling, the matches, the competitiveness. I remember the next match for England was going to be in Paris against France, a friendly. I was already thinking about who to select, how to do it. She said 'When is the next match - two months?'. What are you thinking for two months?”
"She was saying, forget it, its not for you. Maybe in twenty years time," he added.
On the Premier League being the best league
Mourinho, who had earlier managed La Liga giants Real Madrid for three seasons, picked the Premier League ahead of La Liga in terms competition.
"I won La Liga, I lost La Liga, but I won La Liga. And I know clearly the differences between La Liga and the Premier League," he said.
"But to go to matches knowing that you are going to win for sure is not the best thing. In Spain everybody knows that two teams are top of the world, third team like Athletico is doing well and they won last year, which is not normal,” he added.
"But after that there is a huge competitive difference and that’s why the record is 100 points and 126 goals. In England, 100 points and 126 goals is impossible. If someone reaches 100 points and scores 126 goals that’s not the best competition for sure, can be the best team, but not the best competition."
On his former player Mario Balotelli
Mourinho also recalled a hilarious incident involving one of his former players, Mario Balotelli who had once stood him up for a Formula 1 race while the latter was in charge of Inter Milan.
'We had funny problems. I told him to be at 2pm in my office for a meeting and when I called him he'd gone to the Formula 1 qualification on the Saturday for the race on Sunday,” he revealed.
“He said, 'meetings in your office I can have every day, but to see the Formula 1 is only once a year in Italy'. A couple of days later I had to laugh.”
