Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho has declared that he would never consider working for Barcelona.
Before their Champions League triumph last night, Mourinho, who also crossed swords with Barca while in charge at Chelsea, did little to endear himself again to the club on Tuesday by claiming they were “obsessed” with reaching the Champions League final on the home turf of their bitter rivals Real Madrid, and the crowd reacted badly when he raced onto the pitch to celebrate Inter’s aggregate success at the final whistle.
“I’m not stupid enough to think that this hate can be turned into love,” he said. “I respect Barca and I’ll never forget what the club gave me in the four years I was here, but something has been created around me that is hard to make positive.
“It is clear that I will end my career without having coached Barca.”
Wednesday night’s match was the 10th between Mourinho and Barcelona in the last six years, with the Catalans having faced Chelsea on six occasions and Inter four times.
Six of those matches have come in knockout ties, with Mourinho having now eliminated the Catalans from Europe on two occasions.
“If I never beat them, they wouldn’t hate me,” Mourinho said.