Jose Mourinho claims that he rejected the AC Milan job after leaving Manchester Untied and is “so happy” he did, following nine-man Roma’s disastrous 3-1 loss at the San Siro
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A bitter Jose Mourinho has insisted that he is “so happy” to have rejected the AC Milan job after leaving Manchester United in 2018.
The 58-year-old’s snide remarks come after his Roma side were beaten 3-1 at the San Siro by the Italian giants.
It was another eventful night for Mourinho, who has made a habit of making headlines since returning to Serie A last summer, and at one point stormed the pitch to break up a scuffle in one of many moments when tensions boiled over.
Milan led 2-0 inside the opening 17 minutes, with Tammy Abraham ‘s 40th-minute goal rendered a mere consolation after Rafael Leao wrapped up the match for Stefano Piolo and co late on.
“I was offered the [Milan] job three years ago,” the Portuguese, who used to manage rivals Inter, stated during his post-match press conference.
“I thought about it for three days, but I am so happy to have taken that decision.
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“I am a professional, but there is still space for emotion. I am passionate about Roma and I will give everything for this club.”
Mourinho was jeered by Milan fans throughout the game, affirming his thoughts on rejecting the Rossoneri.
“Looking to what happened today, I am twice as happy about my decision.”
According to reports, the ex-United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager had to stop his supporters from apparent racist chanting towards home striker and former Mourinho favourite Zlatan Ibrahimovic, scenes which marred the chaotic clash.
Roma were reduced to nine men in added-time when Gianluca Mancini followed Rick Karsdrop for an early bath.
Ibrahimovic saw the subsequent penalty saved by Rui Patricio but it was too little, too late for the Giallorossi to take anything back to the capital other than a pair of suspensions for their match against Juventus on Sunday.
Following the game, Mourinho was critical of his team – now sitting outside of the European places – and the officials, who awarded the Rossoneri two penalties.
“We were still in the game, even when 2-0 down, but when Rick Karsdorp was sent off, it was over,” he told DAZN, as cited by Football Italia.
“Having said that, the performance was of such a low level. If you look at the two opening goals, we gave the ball away so cheaply. The quality was really lacking today. I didn’t like the referee or my team today.
“The quality was also lacking for the referee and the VAR. I saw Tammy move his arm [for the first penalty after just eight minutes], but it was not a voluntary gesture to stop the ball.
“If you give this as a penalty, then also give a penalty for the fouls on [Nicolo] Zaniolo and [Roger] Ibanez. Give all three or don’t give any of them.
“We want uniformity in decisions, this is why I think the quality level is low and we are unlucky with referees too. The referee didn’t have character today. VAR wanted to get involved, we are little, if VAR lets the game go…
“I understood everything perfectly well straight away. I’ve been at Roma for six, seven months, I’m getting used to it, but this isn’t something we should be getting used to.
“You can’t tell if Abraham touches the ball with his arm or not. How was the second Milan penalty different to the Zaniolo incident?
“Having said that, I won’t deny our performance was not good. This is a medium level squad, so we are mid-table, where we belong. We made a lot of mistakes today, it wasn’t a tactical issue, it was all individual errors.
“I don’t like to do this, but I have to say that I do not understand what the referee and VAR were doing today.
“At this moment, the result is the worst thing, because it brings us zero points, but when I leave my mind will already be on the next game and it’s going to be tough. We have some difficulties and will try to improve.”
Mourinho hopes to add to his squad during the ongoing transfer window, with the Rome outfit close signing Arsenal midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan until the end of the season.
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