New Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has claimed that he and former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had privately made a secret pact with each other, in which Ferguson told him of his intention to step down and in return, Mourinho confided to the Scot about a hankering for Stamford Bridge.
According to the Guardian, Mourinho's revelations that he and the Scot had privately confided their plans to one another months before they became public may be an attempt to counter suspicions that Old Trafford was the destination that Mourinho really coveted on his return to England.
Stating that he was aware of the fact that Ferguson was retiring many months ago, the former Real Madrid boss said that he was happy to have Ferguson's trust, adding that he was gratified that he was a part of that close-knit circle, which knew of Ferguson's plans.
Mourinho further said that being Ferguson's friend, it was his responsibility to tell the Scot of his then-secret ambitions to coach in England in Chelsea, adding that for Chelsea, he would turn down every job in the world.
Meanwhile, Mourinho reinstated his claim that the relationship between him and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has never 'cooled down', saying that he and Abramovich remained on good terms and in intermittent but regular contact throughout his departure, his time away and his return, despite the evidence to the contrary.
Mourinho, who is appearing to rewrite recent history, also insisted that Abramovich had always been the model owner, adding that in his previous stint as the Blues' boss, the owner had never tried to interfere in the basic things of a manager like training sessions, team selection and the profile of a players.
However, Mourinho said that Abramovich would have learned much over a decade that has brought him a host of trophies but at a cost of more than one billion pounds, just as he did in his six years away from the west London club in Spain.
Although the Portuguese rated the contribution of Fernando Torres to the Chelsea cause so far to be 'so-so', he, however, has resolved to give Torres a chance to prove himself; even as the Spaniard himself is keen to stay and impress, the report added.
