Jose Mourinho is set to reject a mammoth offer from a Saudi team in favour of remaining with Roma next season. The Portuguese tactician has reportedly been approached by Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli, who are set to present him with a multi-million contract offer.
Il Corriere dello Sport report that The Special One will take the meeting with Walid Moaz, president of Al-Ahli, in London next week out of ‘pure courtesy’. The newspaper writes:
“Mourinho, in fact, has a definite plan in mind: it is true-and he knows this better than anyone-that in football things can change at any moment, but José after Roma would like to coach a national team, possibly his beloved Portugal. It is no coincidence that in December, when he had been contacted by his country’s federation, the meeting had not been, as in this case, one of mere courtesy. There had been something more but the answer had been identical: “No, thank you.”
Mourinho, in these recent hours, is focused only on the Roma to come. He knows that after two excellent years, with two European finals and a trophy taken home, the fans are one body with him and the team but he also knows that to make the leap forward more is needed. Much more. No “haggling,” in short, net of the stakes of Financial Fair Play. Pinto, who divides his time between Rome, Milan and top-secret trips these days, is in direct contact with him, minus the ownership. The players, on the other hand, have a thread that is difficult to separate from their coach, and that, too, carries weight. Mourinho, who earns and has earned so much in his career, does not need to accept an offer from Arabia for the bank account and, as he has repeatedly said, he still feels the need, almost physical, to compete for something important and fight at a high level. Then, what will be will be, as a chorus often sung by Roma fans goes.
The fans, on the other hand, have been and are a key glue in his relationship with Rome and Roma. Mourinho feels loved because he is loved. And this love cannot be bought. Never. That is why for him to leave Roma, when he decides to do so, Mourinho will do so for a different sporting – not financial – challenge. But this is not the time. This is the time to give so much more to Roma, to Romanisti. “I’m not leaving, I’m staying here with you and for you,” he told the players after the Europa League final against Sevilla. And so he also told the fans with whom he has an ever-deepening bond. “I continue to be a competitive animal,” he said a few months ago, “I continue to want to win as much or more than before. But I used to focus on myself. Now I think much more about the fan.” And so he will do again in the middle of next week when he meets the president of Al-Ahli and respectfully rejects the offer. If this is not love…
