UK Edition
Chelsea taunts would not hurt me, says Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho has insisted he would have “no problem” with Chelsea fans taunting or insulting him again on Sunday.
The Manchester United manager returns to Stamford Bridge for the first time since he was subjected to chants of “Judas” and “You’re not special any more” in March, when his side lost 1-0 to his former club in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Mourinho had reacted to the chants by holding up three fingers, one for each Premier League title he won over two spells with Chelsea. But despite the former Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly claiming he had heard from several people close to Mourinho that the Portuguese had been left “deeply hurt” by the insults, the United manager said he would take a repeat of such behaviour in his stride.
Asked if he was upset by the reaction he got from some Chelsea supporters last time around, Mourinho said: “No, I don’t want to speak about that. That’s football, that’s not a problem for me. That’s not a problem at all.
“When I go to Stamford Bridge and sit in that dugout, on the right side of the tunnel, I am the manager of their opponents, so I accept every possible reaction with the utmost respect.
“When I walk down the street and outside the football heat, outside the football environment, I get so many Chelsea fans, especially in the area where I live, and I didn’t have one single one that wasn’t nice. What happened in the football stadium was a different thing. When I walk in the street in London, I am just a normal guy.”
Mourinho spent Friday morning in Madrid settling a high-profile tax fraud case after Spanish authorities alleged the former Real Madrid coach owed the state almost £2.9 million in undeclared revenue related to image rights in 2011 and 2012.
He had returned to Manchester by the afternoon but has a series of selection dilemmas ahead of a crucial weekend when United could close the gap to two points on Manchester City if their rivals lose at home against Arsenal or, equally, fall eight points behind the Premier League leaders if they lose to Chelsea and Pep Guardiola’s side win.
United have doubts over Jesse Lingard, who was substituted at half-time of the 2-0 Champions League win over Benfica on Tuesday with a back injury, and Antonio Valencia, who has a niggling knee problem. Henrikh Mkhitaryan has also been feeling under the weather this week. Michael Carrick is pushing closer to a return but Mourinho is expected to remain without fellow midfielders Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini as well as defender Marcos Rojo and striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Goalkeeper David De Gea is being considered for the captaincy against Chelsea if Valencia does not play and Chris Smalling is not picked.