In his last press conference with Benfica, Jose Mourinho He avoided specifying his immediate future, but his answers further fueled the debate about his next step. One who aims for the target… or that’s how they see it in Madrid, who have chosen the Portuguese above everyone else. “I have a contract for one more year; nobody forced Benfica to renew it, but By not renewing it, we kept this clause open for a few more dayswhich gives me the possibility of leaving if I so decide,” began the Portuguese coach.
Future: “There is a 99% chance that I will stay at Benfica, because I have a contract with Benfica and, in addition to having a contract, I have a renewal offer that I have not seen yet, but my agent said it was an excellent offer. I have not heard anything from Real Madrid yet, but none of us are stupid, and there are conversations between Jorge Mendes, the president, and the club’s board.”
Will he stay at Benfica?: “I don’t know, when I know, I will say. There is the possibility of continuing, yes. My intention is to see what I have next week. Objectively, I have a renewal offer from Benfica, which I value as much as the opportunity they gave me to coach Benfica months ago. But in recent weeks I have not wanted to think about my future, about what is said and what is not said; nobody is stupid. Obviously, something is happening, but, as I said, there is no signed contract, no contract on the table, no conversations between the president of Real Madrid and me, nor conversations between anyone important in the club structure and me. At this moment, the only real and effective thing that exists is a continuation offer from Benfica.”
Is it possible to say no to Madrid?: “It depends on the offer, on what they expect from me. We are not talking about more or less euros, but about what they expect from me, whether I am in a position to comply with what they propose, with the work profile they propose. I want to have time to analyze, think and decide for myself. Benfica is Benfica and what I feel for Benfica can no longer be hidden. I have spent my entire career hiding it, but now it is impossible.”
Benfica: “I was happy every day, and I made it very clear to the players. In my career, although I won more titles in some clubs than I lost at Benfica, I was not happy every day. But here at Benfica, with my group, as I say, with Seixal, I was happy every day. I was happy every day, without exception.”
Many rumors… and different: “It is you who has to justify it. You are the one who works in the media. You see one thing and the next minute you see something contradictory in the same publication. There is nothing to explain. I think it has to be you, since perhaps you understand it better than me. I thank the president for having appointed me coach of Benfica, for having offered me the renewal of my contract. There is a deadline that we agreed on, him out of respect for his opponents in the elections and me out of respect for Benfica. That deadline is there and I want I’m not saying I want to use it to leave. I want to use it to have time to decide. I haven’t signed with Real Madrid, I don’t have any offer. But I won’t deny that it was my agent who spoke to me, not Real Madrid, and he told me: ‘keep in mind that there could be a real and serious situation with Real Madrid, let’s wait.’
Are you motivated to return to Madrid?: “Or could it be that there are no contacts? It could be that there is nothing. At this moment I have a contract and a proposal with Benfica. And at this moment I have a window… Is it like that? I work with Italians and at the moment the language is a very big problem. I have a decision period. Tranquility. Tomorrow I am going to wake up as coach of Benfica, on Monday I will go to the training center. And then we will see what happens.”
Without Florentino… I would return to Madrid: “It’s the same story as always: ‘if this happens, if that happens…’. The coach of Real Madrid is Álvaro, he plays tomorrow, right? The only thing I want is for Real Madrid to win tomorrow.”
Contract: “No, no, no. I have not seen the contract, but obviously Jorge Mendes saw it and told me that it was very good. It has nothing to do with whether we play in the Champions League or not. Obviously, the Europa League is not the competition in which Benfica wants to play, it is not the competition that goes hand in hand with its history and prestige, but Benfica can win the Europa League. It has all the conditions to win, unlike what happens in the Champions League, where victories are limited to clubs from countries economically stronger than Portugal”.
