Jose still a tease on his future
JOSE MOURINHO walked away from the Stadium of Light in Lisbon yesterday leaving everyone in the dark about his future at Manchester United.
Mourinho reiterated comments he made in an interview with a French TV station over the weekend saying that he will not finish his career at Old Trafford.
But the United boss insisted he has no plans to leave the club as he approaches the halfway point of a three-year contract.
Speaking at the Estadio da Luz before tonight’s Champions League game against Benfica, Mourinho said he wants to stay in football for at least 15 years and that it would be ‘mission impossible’ to spend that time entirely at United.
However, the 54-year- old was evasive when asked about the possibility of extending his stay beyond 2019.
‘I don’t think there is an answer for that,’ he said. ‘ I have a contract and that’s it.
‘I have my contract that ends in May or June 2019. We are in October 2017 so I don’t know what to say. The future in football is tomorrow. One day I’m going to sign a five-year contract, £1billion per season and the next day I’m leaving and going to Paris Saint- Germain. The answer is that nothing is happening. I’m not signing a new, five-year contract and I am not leaving for Paris. I’m at Manchester United, I have a contract and that’s it.
‘The reality is simple — I didn’t sign a new contract but I am not thinking about leaving.’
Sensing that the issue was in danger of overshadowing tonight’s Group A encounter, Mourinho sought to explain his thinking.
‘The only thing that I told them and is true, and there was not misinterpretation of my words, is I am not going to end my career at Manchester United,’ he added.
‘ I ask how is it possible in modern football that any manager is going to last 15 or 20 years in the same club? I think Wenger is the last one. I think it is impossible for us, with all the pressure, to last for so long.
‘If in this moment I want to finish my career in two, three, four or five years, yes, my ambition is to end my career at Manchester United. I think I’m going to be 15 years minimum in football and I think it’s impossible to stay 17 years in the same club, even if you try.’