José Mourinho signs new four-year contract with champions Chelsea

José Mourinho has signed a new four-year contract at Chelsea that will keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2019.

The deal was announced on Friday evening and it gave the club a boost on the eve of the new Premier League season, which they begin in Saturday’s late kick-off at home to Swansea City.

The deal has been in the pipeline for some time and it reflects the sense of ease and comfort with which the owner, Roman Abramovich, and the directors have come to consider Mourinho. They watched him win the Premier League title last time out, together with the Capital One Cup.

The 52-year-old previously spent just over three years at Stamford Bridge during his first spell – his longest stint at any one club – but, if he lasts until the end of this latest contract, he will have done a further six years.

Mourinho said: “If the club is happy, I am happy. I think this is a normal thing for me to sign a new contract. It is important we have this continuity and I hope we can enjoy more success in the future – for the fans, the players and the club.

“I said when I returned here two years ago that I have a special feeling for this club and nothing changed. It is the club closest to my heart and I am very happy to know I will be staying here for a long time.”

The director Marina Granovskaia added: “We are very happy that José has committed four more years to the club. Since his arrival two years ago, he has carefully developed the playing squad and brought trophies to Stamford Bridge. We look forward to the next four years and the continued success of the team.”

Mourinho won two league titles, one FA Cup and two League Cups during his first spell at Chelsea from 2004 to 2007 before he moved to Internazionale and Real Madrid, where he enjoyed further success. He began his career at Benfica, União de Leiria and Porto.

Mourinho is excited to begin the new season, and he is confident of a successful title defence. He is unconcerned about Chelsea’s failure to win in any of their five pre-season friendlies.

“The real football starts tomorrow,” he said. “None of the big leagues in Europe have started yet. Not Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal. Everybody is waiting for tomorrow, so finally people have proper football – some people watching in the stadiums, some at home on TV. Let’s try and be a good team this season and try to be here in March, April and speaking about winning something.”