Arsenal fans have become well used to the many faces of Jose Mourinho over the last 10 years or so. Even once the Portuguese manager had finished his first spell and moved to Inter Milan and Real Madrid, I could not help but hear with disbelief and disapproval about some of the things he said and did.
And nothing has changed, as we found out from his spiteful outbursts about Arsenal and Arsene Wenger, backed up by the cynical and unpleasant way his Chelsea team sometimes go about their business on the pitch. This all made the transfer of Petr Cech to Arsenal this week that much sweeter, as we knew that it was a move that Mourinho did not want to happen.
But hold on, the Chelsea boss is now saying that he is completely behind the decision to let his long serving keeper decide where he would go after Stamford Bridge. As reported by The Mirror, he talked about respect and honour and that certainly rang a few alarm bells in my head.
Mourinho said, “I always said I wanted him to stay but I understand Petr needed to move on to play first team football every week.
“Sometimes you have to respect the wishes of someone who has earned so much respect with his service and actions for your club. I support the owner’s decision to honour the player in this way.
“It is very rare in football to make a decision like this and for that reason I am proud of my club for making it. There are not many clubs in the world big enough to be able to make that decision.”
Yes mate and if it was down to you, Chelsea would not have been one of them, I thought. But just to make sure I have done a little back research and it did not take long for me to find a report in The Guardian with Mourinho stating quite clearly that he would not let Cech sign for Arsenal and why.
He said not long ago, “The club is more important than the player and, as was true this season, the club needs two very good goalkeepers.
“For me, decision No. 1, Petr will stay. After that, second point, to go but not in England. The option I don’t want is for him to go to an English club.”
So has Mourinho changed his mind? Or is he just trying to fool us into thinking that he is a nice man after all? Answers on a postcard please.