Futre: “Mourinho turned down Real Madrid to go to Roma”

Paulo Futre was in no doubt as he revealed, “José Mourinho could have returned to Real Madrid in 2021″. The legendary former Atlético player chatted about his own career and analyzed issues dominating the current game in an interview with SerieANews.com. He also explained why Mou opted for Roma’s proposal instead of taking on a second spell at Real Madrid: “José believed in the Roma project from the first moment, since he signed. He said no to Madrid... When Zidane left, he was able to return to Madrid, but he preferred to go to Roma and start a new journey. And by the way, playing for the the Giallorossi was one of my dreams…”.

Roma: “Bruno Conti becmae one of my idols after watching him at the ‘82 World Cup. Because of him I wanted to play for Roma. I came close - I met the President [Dino] Viola in Madrid, but there was no agreement between the clubs. In 1982 I was 16 years old and Bruno Conti, for me, was like Chalana. Then there was Maradona, who was a God... All left-foored players”.

Health: “I am improving day by day. I smoked too much and I gave up cigarettes a while ago. I think that this new stage of my life, without cigarettes, can be beautiful. Every day is better.”

Ballon d’Or 1987: “[Ruud] Gullit was a legend, but I had won the European Cup and was the best player in the final against Bayern. He is a great, but, perhaps, in that year I deserved it more”.

Atleti: “They say I was little protected politically. If I had gone to Milan, Madrid, Barça or United I might have won the Ballon d’Or and something else. But I had done that, I would not have had the affection of the Atleti fans, for whom, I am not just anyone. And there is no Ballon d’Or that can surpass that. Look at Figo, who won the Ballon d’Or at Madrid, but did not experience the excitement that I had and still have. Griezmann’s wife said something similar. At Barça, Antoine was just another player, but at Atleti you are a legend forever. That’s the truth and he will be if he decides to retire as a Rojiblanco”.

João Félix: “I thought that his problems with Simeone were something like a fight between father and son, but there is still something bigger going on. Let’s see what happens in January. A lot of things have been said. I don’t want to talk too much, because I love both of them very much.”

Cristiano: “Ten Hag cannot do what he did with Cristiano. I have respect for him, but Cristiano won the Ballon d’Or five times. And you can’t tell a player like that to get ready to come on with two minutes to go. Whatever the outcome, it’s going to be a mess - if Ronaldo says he doesn’t want to, there’s controversy, and if he concedes and enters the pitch, it’s humiliating. If he has been called to come on as a sub, he must play 20 minutes, not two. And if it’s not right, then it’s better not to bring him on. He has to understand how he is humiliating him and Cristiano did well to leave the bench and walk away. They are not respecting him. Did you hear what he said after the City game? That he did not play him out of respect, but two weeks later he wanted him to play with two minutes to go before the final whistle! No, you can’t do that. Cristiano is Portuguese and he is a friend, but he would say the same if Messi were in his place”.