When football fans think of Portuguese football they will often think of two things. José Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo at Real Madrid has maintained his consistency with 233 goals in 210 appearances for Real – that is amazing. After making his name at Porto, José enjoyed further success at Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid where he managed Cristiano.
However the story dominating world football is the current situation with Mourinho’s Chelsea. As unfair as it is given his incredible roll-call of triumphs over the past decade, his current travails appear to have led to some hasty revisionism regarding the Special One’s coaching attributes.
The pressure within the club will be moderate at best as José’s record speaks for itself. However, the fans and those within football cannot help but be influenced by the media and the press. These external forces lead to pressure on managers and players.
Media gauntlet
Mourinho has not helped himself by not conducting interviews but also some extremely emotive press conferences where (by no fault of his own) he cannot really win. If he says too much he will be fined by the Football Association (£90,000 in the last month) and if he keeps quiet he is accused of throwing his toys from the pram. Maybe the best idea is to have press conferences as a team and invite another member of the coaching team and a player. This way he can present a broad spectrum of views to get him through this period.
Owner Roman Abramovich has invested considerable funds into Chelsea but their spending has gone down over recent seasons compared to Manchester City and even Liverpool. For the ultimate marquee signing I wonder what price for a Ronaldo return to a Mourinho side at Chelsea?
You can compare all the main betting firms at bookmakers.co.uk so you can make an informed choice. It is also great that you can read betting previews which provide back story and context to a situation. They also have a betting calculator so you can calculate potential wins in real pounds and pence. Why would Ronaldo move from Madrid where he is a club icon to London? He was an icon at Manchester United so why couldn’t he pull off the same trick three times?
Premier League return for Ronaldo?
In the past he was adamant that the only club he would play for once again in the Premier League would be for Manchester United but a lot has changed since his departure in 2009. Manchester City and Chelsea have won titles in this period and United have struggled since Ferguson left, David Moyes only lasted months before the Dutchman Van Gaal took control.
Cristiano might fancy a new challenge in a new city and if José regains full trust from Roman an audacious bid might be considered. £100m is the price tag considered with PSG also interested. Other price tags widely considered by Real range between £100m to £300m – Real obviously released these figures to put off potential suitors and also demonstrate their muscle in world football. What is clear is that the future of Portugal’s main star might be far from being resolved.
