Jose Mourinho says he has “fallen in love with Inter, just as I did with Chelsea,” and increased his chances of staying to “100 per cent.”
The Coach spent the last week musing publicly on whether or not to accept an offer from Real Madrid, but penned a contract extension until 2012.
“After falling in love with a club, as I did with Chelsea, I didn’t think it was possible to create the same relationship,” he said in today’s Press conference.
“But I have done that with Inter. At this moment I can look to the past, but without nostalgia. Even without renewing my contract, that philosophy would not have changed. I’ve always liked the club’s attitude.
“I could have freed myself from my contract very easily, so if I did not do that, it means I didn’t want to. The Real Madrid story is over.”
There were fears the Special One would walk out after conquering the Scudetto at his first attempt.
“I realised the fans are in love with Inter, even if they jeer when the top team in the League draw a game,” he added ahead of Sunday’s closer with Atalanta.
“We were always out in front and were never afraid of losing the title, even if there is nothing certain in football.
“I would give myself between 7.5 and 8 out of 10 for this season. The best thing was winning the Scudetto, the worst was the defeat at Manchester United and elimination from the Champions League, even if it was not a tragedy. We returned to Italy and carried on winning.”
Mourinho courted controversy this week when stating he was “99.9 per cent” sure of staying at Inter for another season, but with the contract extension has increased that to “100 per cent.”
The question marks now hang over his players, such as Douglas Maicon and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
“Maicon was very clear and said he wants to stay, 200 per cent,” commented the Portuguese Coach.
“We cannot say 100 per cent for Ibra, but he will stay and that is a logical outcome. He just needs a break for the summer then he’ll be there at the first day of pre-season training and be happy.”
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