José Mourinho spoke openly to the media on the eve of Benfica’s Champions League knockout round first leg against Real Madrid.
The Portuguese manager talked about his history with the Spanish giants and his expectations for the match.
Mourinho Denies Rumours Linking Him To Real Madrid Job
According to Managing Madrid, Mourinho started off by denying rumours that he was seeing Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez and that he might rejoin the team.
“I don’t want to fuel stories that don’t exist. Yes, of course, you can say no to Florentino. I gave everything I had to Real Madrid.
“I did good things and bad things, but I gave it my all. My feeling is that I gave everything, and people respect me for that, with my successes and mistakes.
“But I don’t want to fuel stories that don’t exist. The reality is that I have one more year with Benfica, with a very easy clause to terminate by either party.
“There’s nothing left with Real Madrid. I would really like to eliminate Real Madrid.”
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Mourinho dismissed the idea that Benfica would need exceptional circumstances to overcome the European royalty and instead focused on the task at hand.
“I don’t think we need a miracle to get through. We need to be at our best, but not a miracle. Real Madrid is legendary, but we’re two giant clubs.
“Beating Real Madrid is very difficult. Doing it two or three times, knocking them out… It won’t be a repeat of what happened three weeks ago.
“We have to play with the joy of being here after starting with zero points in four games. We’re going to compete.”
Benfica face Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League knockout-phase match in Lisbon later today.
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