Jose Mourinho has revealed that he rejected the most lucrative offer ever made to a manager in the just concluded summer transfer window due to his loyalty to Roma.
Mourinho turned down the offer to remain at Roma despite it being the best offer he has ever received.
Transfer Guru Fabrizio Romano revealed that Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal were willing to pay the £60-year-old a whopping €30m (£26m) per season.
However, according to the former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager, no manager had previously been offered such a lucrative deal.
Speaking on it, Jose Mourinho said: “I received the biggest proposal ever in the history of football for a manager.”
Jose Mourinho went on to add: “I decided to reject that proposal as I only wanted to respect my word to AS Roma fans, players, and board”.
“Criticism for 5 points in 6 games? I can’t accept to be considered as the problem. Until June 30, I will stay here to fight every single day for the club — for sure”.
Al Hilal, on the other hand, settled for the re-appointed Mourinho’s compatriot Jorge Jesus – who is one of the six Portuguese currently managing in the league.
Aside from Jorge Jesus, there is also ex-Tottenham and Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who also joined the league last summer.
Unlike Jose Mourinho, former Premier League coaches Steven Gerrard and Slaven Bilic promptly accepted proposals from Saudi clubs as they signed for Al Ettifaq and Al Fateh respectively.
Jose Mourinho will be wondering if he actually made the right decision following his side’s poor Serie A start.
So far this season, Roma has lost three and won only one of their opening six games to find themselves hovering just above the relegation zone.
Jose Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH is a Portuguese football manager and former player who is the current head coach of the Italian Serie A club Roma.
Mourinho was born on the 26th of January, 1963 in Setúbal, Portugal.
Nicknamed “The Special One” by the British media, he is one of the most decorated managers ever and is widely considered to be among the greatest managers of all time.
Jose Mourinho has won all five of his five European finals, including last season’s Europa Conference League win with Roma.
Mourinho gained his first-ever European cup final with Porto against Celtic in the 2003 UEFA Cup, after Porto defeated Celtic in the final.
Mourinho won his third UEFA cup after guiding Inter Milan to the final in 2010. The Italian powerhouse beat Bayern Munich to complete the club’s treble the same year.
His fourth European cup came when he was Manchester United’s head coach. In the 2016/2017 campaign, Mourinho led the Red Devils to the first Europa League glory after they beat Ajax in the final by two goals to nil.
He made history last season as he took Roma to the Europa Conference League final which they won 1–0 over Feyenoord.
