Quotes & stories

“Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one.”

— First press conference as Chelsea manager, 2004

“I prefer not to speak. If I speak I will be in trouble.”

— Chelsea, asked about the referee after a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa, 2014

“He is a specialist in failure. I'm not.”

— On Arsène Wenger, 2014

“Three Premierships, and I won more Premierships alone than the other 19 managers together. … Respect, respect, respect.”

— Manchester United, walking out of the press conference after a 3-0 home defeat by Tottenham, 2018

“Look, I'm a coach, I'm not Harry Potter.”

— Real Madrid, warning fans not to expect miracles after his first league match, 2010

“Omelettes, eggs. No eggs, no omelettes. And it depends on the quality of the eggs.”

— Chelsea, on building a squad without new signings, 2007

“If I wanted to have an easy job I would have stayed at Porto – beautiful blue chair, the UEFA Champions League trophy, God, and after God, me.”

— Chelsea, explaining why he left Porto, 2004

“Young players are like melons. Only when you open and taste the melon are you 100% sure that the melon is good.”

— On developing young players

“As we say in Portugal, they brought the bus and they left the bus in front of the goal.”

— After a 0-0 against Tottenham – the birth of 'parking the bus', 2004

“It was the most beautiful defeat of my life.”

— Inter, after reaching the Champions League final at Camp Nou with ten men, 2010

“I'm the happy one.”

— On returning to Chelsea, 2013

“This is football from the 19th century.”

— Chelsea, on West Ham's defensive approach, 2014

“I'm one of you.”

— To Chelsea fans, in his first interview after returning, 2013

“I understand why he is emotional. You would be sad if your team got dominated by opponents who have been built with 10 per cent of your budget.”

— FC Porto, on Sir Alex Ferguson after beating Manchester United in the Champions League, 2004

“I don't like intellectual prostitution, I like intellectual honesty. … We haven't talked about Milan, who will finish the season with zero titles.”

— Inter, at a press conference after a row over a penalty against Roma, 2009

“At almost 70 years of age has won a Super Cup and another small cup. He is too old to change his mentality.”

— Inter, replying to Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri, 2008

“As for Lo Monaco, I do not know who he is. With the name Monaco, I have heard of Bayern Monaco (Munich) and the Monaco GP, the Tibetan Monaco (Monk) and the Principality of Monaco. I've never heard of any others.”

— Inter, replying to Catania's chief executive Pietro Lo Monaco, 2008

“If I tell UEFA what I really think and feel, my career would end now. Instead, I will just ask a question to which I hope one day to get a response: Why? Why Ovrebo? Why Busacca? Why De Bleeckere? Why Stark? Why? Because every semi-final the same things happen.”

— Real Madrid, after the Champions League semi-final first-leg defeat by Barcelona, 2011

“I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people.”

— Chelsea, on Arsène Wenger's comments about the club, 2005

“I've sat in this chair twice before in the Champions League, and I knock Man Utd out at home twice, with Porto - Man Utd out, and with Real Madrid - Man Utd out. So this is nothing new for this football club.”

— Manchester United, after a Champions League exit to Sevilla at Old Trafford, 2018

“Same coach, different players.”

— Tottenham, asked why his side kept losing leads, 2021

“Now I am staying, there are no doubts. Even if some rumours emerge, I only want to remain at Roma.”

— Roma, after winning the Europa Conference League final, 2022

“This shirt is my skin.”

— Fenerbahçe, at his unveiling in Istanbul, 2024

“I have been here two-and-a-half years, and it was fantastic. We won everything”

— FC Porto, after winning the Champions League final, 2004

“I am Jose Mourinho and I don't change. I arrive with all my qualities and my defects.”

— Real Madrid, at his unveiling at the Santiago Bernabéu, 2010

“This is coming home. Emotionally, it's even better than the first time”

— Real Madrid, at his presentation for a second spell, 2026

“My promise is I will live for Benfica, live for my mission”

— Benfica, at his presentation 25 years after his first spell, 2025

“Our goalkeeper Trubin, who is two metres tall, went into the box and scored a fantastic goal, a historic goal”

— Benfica, after his goalkeeper's late header beat Real Madrid 4-2 in the Champions League, 2026

“I won eight championships and three Premier Leagues but I keep saying and thinking and feeling that second position last season was one of my biggest achievements in the game.”

— Manchester United, looking back on finishing second the season before, 2018

“Just as an example, Hegel says the truth is in the whole, it's always in the whole that you find the truth.”

— Manchester United, answering criticism at a press conference, 2018

“Don't ask me what mistakes they are but I realise that during my career I have made mistakes. And I'm not going to make the same mistakes. I'm going to make new mistakes.”

— Tottenham, at his first press conference, 2019

“It was an intense, vibrant game with a referee who seemed Spanish. It was yellow, yellow, yellow all the time.”

— Roma, after losing the Europa League final to Sevilla on penalties, 2023

“From the moment I signed my contract, your dreams are now my dreams.”

— Fenerbahçe, speaking to fans at his unveiling, 2024

“It is no secret that I want to go abroad one day, and this UEFA Cup final can mean a lot. If you win a European competition, people know your name and recognise your work.”

— FC Porto, before the UEFA Cup final against Celtic, 2003

“I think that in two years maximum a team has to be playing in the image of their coach, doing things with their eyes closed and that isn't about having people working together for years. It's about hard work and good practice sessions.”

— FC Porto, on how quickly a coach should shape a team, 2003

“I learned a lot from Bobby Robson and a great deal from Louis Van Gaal as well. Nothing was left to chance, everything was programmed in great detail.”

— Inter, before the Champions League final against Van Gaal’s Bayern, looking back on his years at Barcelona, 2010

“I am not an idiot.”

— Inter, at his first press conference, in Milanese dialect, 2008

“The third season is a failure. This is the worst season of my life. For many coaches it would be good, but for me it's terrible.”

— Real Madrid, after losing the Copa del Rey final to Atlético Madrid, 2013

“Two horses and a little horse. A little horse who needs milk and to learn how to jump.”

— Chelsea, after winning at Manchester City, on the title race, 2014

“My conscience tells me that if, for example, Baker, Brown and Solanke are not national team players in a few years, I should blame myself.”

— Chelsea, on three academy players in pre-season, 2014

“I was always humble but you didn't understand that.”

— Tottenham, at his first press conference, asked whether he had changed, 2019

“I promised him that [if he scored] I would buy him a pair of shoes that he really likes, that cost €800. … He came over to me and told me not to forget that. Tomorrow morning, I will go and buy them.”

— Roma, after 18-year-old Felix Afena-Gyan scored twice at Genoa, 2021

“If we win today but lose at El Sardinero, it counts for nothing, because Madrid isn't playing to win at the Camp Nou.”

— Real Madrid, after winning 2-1 at Barcelona, 2026

“If we have referees like this one in every match of the title contenders, the championship will be a beautiful championship and the winner will deserve to win.”

— Fenerbahçe, praising the referee after a 1-0 derby defeat at Beşiktaş, 2024

“I think we still have a chance to win that league because maybe they punish Man City with points and maybe we win that league and they have to pay me the bonus and give me the medal.”

— Fenerbahçe, joking about the 2017-18 Premier League title before facing Manchester United, 2024

“I'm more altruistic, less egocentric. I don't think about me as much.”

— Benfica, at his presentation, on how he has changed, 2025

“As for the bicycle in Switzerland. It was in a hotel, made up of small houses, which makes them available so guests can ride to the communal areas, and you would have us believe he was competing in the Tour of Switzerland.”

— Real Madrid, defending Kylian Mbappé against criticism, 2026

“… in Spain the situation is a bit different because some people hate me. And many of you are in this room.”

— Real Madrid, after going out of the Champions League semi-finals to Borussia Dortmund, 2013

“There are lots of poets in football but poets, they don't win many titles.”

— Manchester United, after winning the Europa League final against Ajax, 2017

“Do you know how many players I have brought through from the academy to the first team? Forty-nine. If anyone is interested I can give you the names.”

— Manchester United, at his first press conference, answering criticism over young players, 2016

“I love intelligent ball boys, like I was. I was a brilliant ball boy as a kid. This kid today was brilliant. He reads the game, understands the game and made an important assist.”

— Tottenham, praising the ball boy whose quick throw set up an equaliser against Olympiacos, 2019

“For me, pressure is bird flu; I am feeling a lot of pressure with the swan in Scotland.”

— Chelsea, asked about the pressure of the title race, 2006

“It is one thing to win when everyone expects it, when you made the investments to win, but it's quite another to win when something feels immortal, that feels truly special.”

— Roma, after winning the first Europa Conference League final, 2022

“You know, I think boring is 10 years without a title. That's very boring.”

— Chelsea, after a 0-0 draw at Arsenal, answering the home fans' 'boring' chants, 2015

“A team of good boys, a team of nice boys, the only thing they can win at the end of the season is the Fair Play Cup. Something I have never won and have no interest in winning that.”

— Tottenham, asked about a half-time argument between two of his players, 2020

“So the stats, many, many times are like an incredible piece of meat or fish but badly cooked. It doesn't tell me much.”

— Tottenham, answering criticism of his side’s low possession at Liverpool, 2020

“This was not work tonight, this was history. We had to write history. We wrote it.”

— Roma, on the night they won the first Europa Conference League final, 2022

“Because when you win, the family is always there around you. But when you don't win, it can be a different story. This club has always been – something I didn't realise, but now I do – a very special club, with very special people.”

— Roma, thanking the fans after a home draw with Venezia, 2022

“I miss English football and English football misses me, there's no doubt.”

— Inter, before a Champions League quarter-final against CSKA Moscow, 2010

“What I will promise is that we will not go to Manchester and play defensive football.”

— FC Porto, after beating Manchester United 2-1 in the Champions League first leg, 2004

“The best thing I have to do is when I leave Fenerbahce, I go to a club that doesn't play in UEFA competition. So, if any club in England from the bottom of the table needs a coach in two years, I'm ready to go.”

— Fenerbahçe, joking after being sent off against Manchester United, 2024

“At the end of the game, I thought about the 25 years that have flown by, but 25 years that have not changed my nature, that have not changed my passion, that have not changed my way of being, of living, that have not changed anything at all.”

— Benfica, after his first match back in charge, 2025

“What we need is to not negotiate things that are non-negotiable. Commitment is mandatory.”

— Real Madrid, at his first press conference of his second spell, 2026

“I won the league title in Portugal, Italy and England, but this one has been the toughest.”

— Real Madrid, after clinching the 2011-12 league title, 2012

“I always say that they can steal everything from me, but the story I created, no one can take away from me.”

— Benfica, in an interview with UEFA before playing Chelsea, 2025

“The best way to respect the game is to play well, to play to win.”

— FC Porto, before the UEFA Super Cup against AC Milan, 2003

“If you don't bring kids through the academy, the best thing is to close the academy. If the kids are not good enough or the work not good enough, and you don't bring kids through, then close the door and use the money to buy players.”

— Chelsea, before a Champions League match in which he gave an academy player his debut, 2014

“If the club decides to sack me because of bad results, that's part of the game. If that happens, I'll be a millionaire and I will get another club a couple of months later.”

— Chelsea, asked about his future before a Champions League match against Porto, 2007

“What I want to say to my players is to follow the dream, not make it an obsession, because for us this is a dream and not an obsession - for Barcelona it's not a dream, it's an obsession.”

— Inter, before the Champions League semi-final second leg at Camp Nou, 2010

“I don't go to cities to enjoy cities, I go to work. If I wanted to enjoy places I would go to Los Angeles and go to the beach every day.”

— Manchester United, denying he was unhappy living in Manchester, 2016

“The 'Mourinho effect' is winning trophies. It's September; you can't win trophies in September.”

— Fenerbahçe, asked about the 'Mourinho effect' after a Europa League win, 2024

“I know that Mike Dean has a difficult job. He's on the pitch and it's 200 miles an hour. I wouldn't like to be a referee because it's so difficult. Sometimes I try in training sessions and I realise that it's too difficult.”

— Tottenham, defending the referee after beating Manchester City, 2020

“The day will come when polls, or AI, pick the team. But until then, I think, coaches pick the team and take decisions...”

— Real Madrid, asked whether he would change his midfield after criticism, 2026

“I am part of their history and they are part of my history. I helped them become a bigger Chelsea and they helped me to become a bigger Jose.”

— Benfica, at Stamford Bridge before facing Chelsea in the Champions League, 2025

“The Special One story doesn't make any sense. It's something that was said at the beginning of my career. But, as you progress, you grow and you think more about helping others rather than yourself. So that's ancient history for me. Tomorrow I'll just try to help others.”

— Roma, on the eve of the Europa Conference League final, 2022

“We played well in a difficult atmosphere and being in the quarter-finals is amazing for us. It's fantastic not only for the club and the players but also for the country.”

— FC Porto, after knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League at Old Trafford, 2004

“But I think the best debut for a young player is in the middle of an experienced structure, where he can be supported. To play so many kids at the same time, honestly, I don't think it's good.”

— Manchester United, on fielding several academy players at once, 2017

“One team played to their potential and one didn't. Loss, yes - humiliation, no. It was a defeat we deserved, we just weren't good enough.”

— Real Madrid, after a 5-0 defeat at Barcelona, 2010

“Normally, a coach is loved after victories. In this case I feel that I am loved before victories.”

— Fenerbahçe, speaking to the fans at his unveiling, 2024

“For me, it is the most important trophy of my career because it is the last. That's the way I look at things.”

— Manchester United, after winning the Europa League final, 2017

“The signal of close your mouth was not for them but for the press. They speak too much and in my opinion they try to do everything to disturb Chelsea. Wait, don't speak too soon.”

— Chelsea, explaining his gesture during the League Cup final win over Liverpool, 2005

“I don't have another way to thank them than by giving everything I have, which I have always, which I will do always. It's the only way to thank them for this reaction.”

— Chelsea, thanking the fans who sang his name during a difficult run, 2015

“No no no. I have years of football experience and it is not a couple of victories that put me on the moon and it is not a couple of defeats that send me down to hell.”

— Tottenham, asked whether a bright start made them title contenders, 2020

“This is not my home. This is not an easy place to work and be happy.”

— Inter, after winning the Serie A title, a week before the Champions League final, 2010

“I leave with the conviction that, more than just a moment, we have forged a lasting bond: my player for a day, my player for life.”

— Benfica, in his farewell message to the players, 2026

“The first half was the coach's fault; the second half was the players' fault.”

— Real Madrid, after coming from 3-1 down to win 4-3 at Roma in the Champions League, 2026

“I trust all the referees... whether it's the league or Champions League, before the game I always have the best feelings about the referees.”

— Real Madrid, at his press conference in Rome before the Champions League match, 2026

“You talk of the title and we talk of time, a project, work. Titles are words, easy promises. Titles will come.”

— Roma, at his first press conference, 2021

“I have 25 coins, I throw the coins in the air. The ones that stay on the table are the players that play, the ones that go on the floor, go on the bench. I do it just like this. During the week I'm having fun, I go to nightclubs every day in Istanbul. It's simple.”

— Fenerbahçe, a sarcastic reply to a question about his squad rotation, 2025

“It is my fault: I have won so, so, so much it is hard to live up to those expectations. But the points record in the league is mine and no one can take that away.”

— Real Madrid, defending his record near the end of his last season, 2013

“If we are playing the most important match in the world we have to be happy.”

— FC Porto, on the eve of the Champions League final, 2004

“I really like this squad and looking to the young players – there is not one manager in the world that doesn't like to play young players and to help young players to develop – not one.”

— Tottenham, in his first interview after being appointed, 2019

“Nobody speaking with fairness and sense can say we don't deserve this title. But the players deserve this more than anybody and I'm very happy for the fans.”

— Chelsea, after the win at Bolton that sealed the club's first league title in 50 years, 2005

“You may as well put a cow in the middle of the pitch. And then stop the game because there was a cow.”

— Chelsea, after a defeat at Newcastle, on time-wasting, 2014

“I'm not going to run away, disappear, cry, because I heard a few boos. I won't disappear from the tunnel running immediately, the next match I'll be first to go out.”

— Manchester United, defending his record after a Champions League exit, 2018

“Because for me you can only play attacking football when you have the ball. You need the ball. When the opposition has the ball you have to defend.”

— Manchester United, asked why his side attacked only when behind, 2018

“I learned we can beat anyone because Chelsea are not just 'anyone', they are one of the best.”

— Inter, after knocking his former club Chelsea out of the Champions League at Stamford Bridge, 2010

“This is a giant club without the trophy room in relation to the social dimension of the club. So, this is not a trophy, it's only the final but it means a lot for them.”

— Roma, after reaching the club's first European final in 31 years, 2022

“There are no words to explain the feeling. We have won all the competitions, of course I am very happy.”

— FC Porto, after the Portuguese Cup final that completed a treble, 2003

“Today the stadium was full – not full of people, full of real support – and it looks like the love that people have for the club is bigger than bad results, bigger than three bad seasons.”

— Manchester United, praising the Old Trafford crowd after a League Cup win, 2016