Jose Mourinho has cemented his loyalty to Roma despite reported interest from Chelsea. The Portuguese boss has just over one year left on his initial deal in Italy having taken over in 2021 but his future is far from certain.
With financial issues at the Serie A side and Mourinho's demands as well as control at the club now well established there is a chance he could walk away. The Special One has worked wonders, taking Roma to the Europa Conference League last season, the Europa League semi-finals this term and a serious top four challenge.
That hasn't stopped his position in charge becoming uncertain. Last month the former chief executive, Pietro Berardi, said that he will stay until the remainder of his contract only for Mourinho to say: “It’s his interpretation.
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“The situation is clear. From a contractual point of view, I still have a year left on my deal. Football is football. At times, contracts aren’t the most important thing.”
His words have coincided with the vacant manager role once again at Stamford Bridge. Although it seems that Mauricio Pochettino is set to walk into those shoes, reports in Italy suggest Mourinho, despite initial links, turned down any talks with the club.
Corriere dello Sport wrote that he is keen to remain at Roma and turned down a call to speak to Chelsea. This comes just months after a revealing interview in-which he said: "If you ask me do I have somebody that I would love to take over from 'my Chelsea' let's say that, yes, but I have but I close my mouth.
"The club reached such a level that it doesn't matter who it's with but Chelsea will always be Chelsea. Chelsea will always be big and my house will always be 200 metres away from the stadium so I want to keep listening to the sound of happiness and success. I'm pretty sure it's going to be like that."
The love for his former employers clearly still exists but seemingly not enough to entice him for round three in the hot seat. Whilst it is Pochettino that appears set to take that challenge, Mourinho's reported dismissal of any potential Chelsea approach mirrors the stance taken by Julian Nagelsmann.
Although there are two sides to each story, the German's camp say that he pulled out of talks rather than the Blues taking him off the short-list. Mourinho may just have taken the decision into his own hands as well.
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