Mourinho admits to having emotional connection with Newcastle

Coaching great Jose Mourinho has admitted to having an “emotional connection” to Newcastle United amid links with the coaching job at the club.

A £300 million Saudi-backed takeover was completed at Newcastle and the new owners are now looking to take the club to great heights and that could include bringing in a new manager. Interestingly, Mourinho, who’s presently with Roma in Italy, has been linked with the top job.

The Portuguese worked with legendary former Newcastle manager Sir Bobby Robson at Barcelona at the start of his coaching career.

As a result of that working relationship, Mourinho has a fond affection for Newcastle, as he has told reporters: “On Newcastle, I don’t have anything to say. Absolutely nothing to say.

“The only thing I can say is that for many, many years, I worked with one of the most important figures in the history of Newcastle, Sir Bobby Robson, and so because of that I have always had a bit of an emotional connection with that city and that fanbase. But it’s nothing more than that.”

The 58-year-old, however, distanced himself from the managerial post at Newcastle for now, saying he’s wholly focused on Roma.

“I am here, I am really happy to be here,” he added ahead of Roma’s Serie A clash with Juventus on Sunday. “I am 100 per cent focused on the Roma project, the Friedkin project.”

Mourinho won three Premier League titles across two spells at Chelsea and has also managed Manchester United and Tottenham,