Jose Mourinho reveals regret over 2013 Chelsea return

Jose Mourinho has admitted the decision to leave Real Madrid in 2013, in order to rejoin Chelsea, is among the greatest regrets of his illustrious career.

Mourinho has seen his stock fall in recent times, dropping gradually further away from the band of truly elite clubs that was once his domain. But, a decade ago, he rivalled Pep Guardiola as the hottest managerial property on the planet.

The Portuguese came to a crossroads in 2013, only one season into a four-year contract at Real Madrid but coming off the self-proclaimed "worst" campaign of his career.

Mourinho, who had finally broken Barcelona's La Liga dominance with a stunning 100-point season in 2011/12, walked away from Madrid and back into the arms of Chelsea for a second spell in London. That meant telling Bernabeu president Florentino Perez he wanted out and severing ties.

In an interview with Rome-based publication Corriere dello Sport this week, the now 61-year-old was pressed to name his biggest regret in football.

"If we talk about matches, a lot because when you lose you always think that you could have done differently, and I've lost a lot of matches," he replied.

"If you're referring to professional choices, the 'no' to Florentino. He told me, 'Mou, don't leave now, you've done the hard part and the good part is yet to come'. I knew it would be like this, but I wanted to return to Chelsea after three years in Spain of great struggles...”

Although Mourinho went on to deliver Chelsea a Premier League title in 2014/15, the club's first in five years, Madrid immediately won the Champions League without him – the Portuguese, so famous for his European conquests with Porto and Inter, has never gone all the way again since 2010.

He also stated that his other great regret was not leaving Roma sooner, straight after the heartbreak of losing the 2023 Europa League final on penalties against Sevilla. Mourinho carried on but poor results the following season resulted in his dismissal only seven months later.

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