In an interview during a visit to South Korea, the coach Jose Mourinho admitted that he regretted not having accepted the proposal to direct the selection of Portugal.
According to Special Onehe was sought after the World Cup 2022as soon as the FPF (Portuguese Football Federation) sent the then coach away Fernando Santos.
Mourinho, however, preferred to remain in charge of the Pomegranatewhat fired him in January this year.
In the end, Portugal ended up signing the Spaniard Roberto Martinezwho remains in command of the national team and will compete in the Eurocup-2024.
“The most normal thing would be for me to have accepted the invitation (from Portugal). It has already happened twice, but they [dirigentes de Portugal] did not appear in timing right. In this last invitation, I let emotion override reason and decided to stay in Rome. It was a mistake,” he said.
“Portugal has one of the best teams in the world at the moment. It’s an incredible group, I know that, but I felt a great connection with Roma and with the fans. That was the reason I rejected (Portugal’s offer)”, he added .
The multi-time champion also made a “promise”: if Portugal comes looking for him again, this time he will say “yes” immediately.
“If this third opportunity comes, I will accept it. And I hope the next generation of players in the Portuguese national team is as good as this one”, he joked.
Mourinho has been unemployed since his dismissal from Roma and is currently awaiting offers to return to football.
In recent weeks, he has been rumored as a coach for several clubs, especially in Saudi Arabia. However, he has not initiated any negotiations so far.
