I WON’T HOLD ON TOO LONG
Mourinho: It’s impossible to build an empire in modern football. Wenger will be the last one
JOSE MOURINHO has never been a manager interested in building a dynasty or staying for the long haul at any club. He has never managed to complete four full seasons with one club, so it should come as no surprise he is already eyeing the finish line at Manchester United. Mauricio Pochettino may talk about staying at Tottenham for 15 years, but Mourinho claimed such managerial longevity at one club in the modern game is fanciful. The Portuguese caused feverish speculation about his future by gushing on French TV about the project at Paris SaintGermain and confirming the United job will not be his last. And, on the eve of tonight’s Champions League tie against Benfica, he insisted it was impossible to build the kind of empire enjoyed by former United bosses Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, due to the demands and pressures of the modern job.
“The future in football is tomorrow, the future is tomorrow,” said Mourinho.
“The only thing that I said and it’s true – there was not a misinterpretation of my words – is that I’m not going to end my career at Manchester United. How is it possible in modern football that any manager is going to last 15 or 20 years in the same club? I think Arsene Wenger is the last one.
“It’s impossible for us – with everything that surrounds the job, with all the pressure – to last for so long. If, at the moment, I want to finish my career in two, three, four or five years, then yes, my ambition is to end my career at Manchester United.
“But I think I’m going to be here 15 years minimum in football and I think it’s impossible to stay 17 years in the same club, an impossible mission – even if you wanted to, even if you tried.
“Wenger will be the last one to do that, so that was my answer. I don’t think I’m going to end my career at Manchester United.”
Mourinho’s motive for shining a light on his future, during his French TV interview, was undoubtedly to remind United of his worth and to nudge his employers into offering a new deal reflecting last season’s two-trophy haul.
But, typically for such a capricious and clever operator,
Mourinho tried to distance himself from the storm he caused with his comments. He said: “Nothing is happening.
“I’m not signing a new five-year contract, and I’m not leaving for PSG. I am at Manchester United, I have a contract – and that’s it. I don’t think there is an answer for that [extending his current deal], I don’t think there’s an answer.
“I’m not in a condition to answer that because I don’t think there is anything to answer.
“I have my contract that ends in May or June 2019. We’re in October 2017, so I don’t know what to say.
“The reality is simple – I have not signed a new contract, but I’m not thinking about leaving too.” Of more immediate concern for him is tonight’s game, where United can take a step closer to the knockout stage, having won their opening two group games. They top Group A, with maximum points.
And they can all but seal qualification for the last 16 with a third straight victory in the tournament over Benfica, who have lost both of their games.
“Our goal is to qualify,” said Mourinho. “I think one point away – against the strongest of the three teams in the group – is a positive result.
“But the match is also possible to be analysed outside that context and to be analysed in the context of a match that we want to try and win.”