Mourinho moves to calm exit fears

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho moved on Saturday to refute speculation that he will quit the Italian champions to join Real Madrid in the summer.

Madrid have made a move for Mourinho and he worried some Inter fans by saying that he was not 100 percent sure he would stay in Milan.

However, speaking ahead of Sunday’s trip to Cagliari in Sardinia, Mourinho suggested the only doubts to his tenure were a matter of phraseology.

“I’m an honest person, I’ve always been, and as I’m sincere I wanted to keep my president (Massimo Moratti) in the loop about the (Real) offer,” he said.

“He found out only from me, not from the press nor anyone else and if I had truly wanted to leave I wouldn’t have said anything, I would have gone and that’s it.

“If in the past I said I would stay here 100 percent, maybe I would have made a mistake because in life there are few certainties.

“And fortunately I said that 99.9 percent I will stay here and not 99 percent because then there would have been even more room for speculation.

“I am slightly tempted, I won’t hide that, but that’s in the hands of destiny, we’re not made of steel.

“I’ve already turned down Real once before in my career and a coach is different to a player, the trains can keep on passing, even over 30 years.

“But I don’t want to talk about this speculation any more. I want to thank all those at Inter who wanted me.

“I have a contract, I’m very happy about what we’ve achieved and what the club is building for the future.

“If I wasn’t happy I would have said 50 percent or even less or I’d have said nothing at all.”