Mourinho eyes England return

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has aimed a broadside at his Spanish employers by reaffirming his desire to return to England.

Mourinho, who joined Real after leading Inter Milan to a domestic and European treble last season, has reportedly been locked in a spat with the club’s sporting director Jorge Valdano.

Their dispute stems from the club’s reluctance to part with funds for a new striker to replace the injured Gonzalo Higuain.

Former Chelsea boss Mourinho has previously admitted harbouring thoughts of returning to England, and the Portuguese manager has now gone further by saying he feels a move back to the English Premier League could occur sooner than he anticipated.

“It’s always important for me and my family to be happy and I love English football and my family love England,” Mourinho told the Sunday Mirror.

“I have always maintained I will return one day but maybe it will come sooner than I expected.”

“If you want to build something England is the place to do it. The culture, the atmosphere and the fair play are unlike anything anywhere else.”

“Besides I want to live in England again. My family loved it here. We still have a house in England and they come back frequently. And if my family are happy then I am happy.”

Mourinho led Chelsea to back-to-back league titles in 2004/05 and 2005/06, but admitted he had had a complicated relationship with Blues owner Roman Abramovich and was not surprised when he was sacked in 2007.

“I was never under any illusions,” he said.

“I understood the personality of Roman Abramovich and the culture of the people around him, and knew it was not a job for ten years.”

“My role was to give this man what he wanted – victory – knowing that, sooner or later, my time would finish, because there were too many things going on around me.”