Jose Mourinho has opened the way for Paris St-Germain to move for him this summer after refusing to commit himself to AS Roma after their Europa League final defeat.
Mourinho, who is sweating over Uefa action for swearing at referee Anthony Taylor in the Puskás Aréna car park after losing to Sevilla, is set for talks with Roma’s board over his future and admitted to Sky Italia that he “cannot say objectively that I’m staying “.
PSG manager Christophe Galtier has seen his position under scrutiny after getting knocked out early in the Champions League, with Mourinho seen as a potential candidate if there is a change at Parc des Princes.
There is also doubt over the future of Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, who has been linked with the vacant Brazil job.
“I spoke to the club in December when I had that approach from the Portuguese national team,” Mourinho said in his post-match interviews. “I have not had any contact with anyone else since then. I have a year left on my contract and this is the situation.”
Uefa will wait for reports from match officials and delegates before deciding whether to take action against Mourinho for his rant at Taylor in Budapest. He branded Taylor a “f—– disgrace” and in a clip shared by Sportitalia lambasting the referee for his “bull—-” decisions.
After accusing Taylor of “seeming Spanish”, the Roma manager can be seen in the video approaching the match officials’ minibus and shouting “F——– disgrace man, it’s a f—— disgrace” before then switching to Italian to further berate Taylor. He added: “Congratulations, you f—– disgrace… F— off.”
Earlier, Mourinho had taken aim at Taylor in his post-match interviews. “It was an intense, masculine, vibrant game with a referee who seemed Spanish,” said Mourinho. “It was yellow, yellow, yellow all the time,” he said. “We are accustomed to the influence of referees in our games, it’s nothing new, but I didn’t expect it in a European final.”
End of Mourinho’s Roman Empire?
Mourinho spent almost 150 minutes of the Europa League final opposing every decision of referee Taylor, snarling at officials and sparking a mass confrontation with the Sevilla bench just before the attritional evening in Budapest ended in a penalty shootout.
In defeat, he returned to the technical area and threw his runner-up medal into the crowd. It felt like a goodbye.
He will go on holiday and is set for talks with Roma about his future, but the prospect of the PSG job is one that fits the bill perfectly for Mourinho. Galtier may have won Ligue 1 but his position is under scrutiny after an early exit in the Champions League, while Mourinho showed why he is a big-game manager at Puskás Aréna. His team took the Europa specialists the full distance in Mourinho’s style of getting a result at all costs.
So what next for the ‘Special One’?
It boiled over for Mourinho, who has never been one to take defeat in good grace and this was as good an example as any. At 60 years old, there is no mellowing to the Portuguese coach, which may only increase his chances of heading to PSG.
He played his mind games ahead of the final, telling the public that Paulo Dybala was only fit for the substitutes’ bench. The Argentina forward started the game and scored the opening goal of the showpiece. Throughout the evening Mourinho and his bench were in the face of Michael Oliver, the fourth official, who deserved his medal on the podium after his night of being harangued at all angles from the Roma bench.
Dressed in chinos and a black polo shirt, Mourinho looked like he was taking a stroll to the beach but the big European final was his arena and even in defeat he was center stage, the focus on him rather than José Luis Mendilibar, the Sevilla manager . The other Jose has had an incredible few months after his appointment in March.
Mourinho and PSG seem a perfect match, with a period of transition at the club expected with Lionel Messi confirmed to be leaving this summer when his contract expires and Neymar’s future uncertain. If there is a clearout, Mourinho would be in the frame to oversee it, particularly with Luciano Spalletti taking time away from management.
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