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Real Madrid should never have hired Jose Mourinho according to former president Ramon Calderon
Real Madrid should never have hired Jose Mourinho, according to former president Ramon Calderon.
Mistake hire: Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has said the club should never have hired Jose Mourinho Photo: REUTERS
[FONT=georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif]By Ben Rumsby[/FONT]
10:37PM BST 21 May 2013
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Calderon branded Mourinho the least successful appointment in Real’s history as the self-styled ‘Special One’ prepared to leave the Bernabeu and return to England with Chelsea.
Roman Abramovich appears to have sanctioned a second coming at Stamford Bridge for Mourinho, despite the latter’s acrimonious departure during his first spell in charge.
Yet, if Abramovich is hoping the 50-year-old is a changed man, Calderon believes he is in for a rude awakening.
“At a certain age, we don’t change,” Calderon told the Telegraph during a visit to London. “It’s his personality, his character.”
Mourinho’s confrontational approach has now cost him another job and Calderon insisted he was never the right fit for Real, criticising current president and arch-rival Florentino Perez for hiring the Portuguese.
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“All those things are incompatible with Real Madrid history, in my opinion,” added the 61-year-old, who snubbed the chance to bring Mourinho to the Bernabeu in 2008.
Indeed, Calderon did not even want to meet the former Porto manager.
He said: “His agent, told me, ‘President, when you meet Mourinho, you are not going to accept any other alternative. He’s the best’.
“I preferred not to meet him because my idea of the coach for Real Madrid was not Mourinho.
“I thought, ‘This is going to be a problem here’ – as it has been, unfortunately.”
He added: “He’s the coach with the worst track record at Real Madrid after three years. No coach at Real Madrid has won fewer titles.”
Calderon was surprised Abramovich would go back for Mourinho unless they had agreed what power each of them would wield.
“What I know is that he was sacked, because he didn’t want the owner to interfere in his job,” he said.
“What I’ve heard is that Abramovich said, ‘If you want money, you have to obey’.”
Mourinho’s impending departure at Real has fuelled speculation Cristiano Ronaldo could follow him back to England.
Ronaldo has only two years remaining on his contract and there is no sign of him agreeing an extension.
Calderon, who was responsible for the forward’s world-record move from Manchester United in 2009, said: “When there is only two years left, we’d try to extend the contract or sell the player.
“Because, in the last year, the player has no value.”
Gareth Bale has been touted as a possible replacement for Ronaldo and Calderon revealed that, were he still president, he would pull out all the stops to sign the Tottenham star.
“I’d try very hard,” he sai
Real Madrid should never have hired Jose Mourinho, according to former president Ramon Calderon.
Mistake hire: Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has said the club should never have hired Jose Mourinho Photo: REUTERS[FONT=georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif]By Ben Rumsby[/FONT]
10:37PM BST 21 May 2013
CommentsCalderon branded Mourinho the least successful appointment in Real’s history as the self-styled ‘Special One’ prepared to leave the Bernabeu and return to England with Chelsea.
Roman Abramovich appears to have sanctioned a second coming at Stamford Bridge for Mourinho, despite the latter’s acrimonious departure during his first spell in charge.
Yet, if Abramovich is hoping the 50-year-old is a changed man, Calderon believes he is in for a rude awakening.
“At a certain age, we don’t change,” Calderon told the Telegraph during a visit to London. “It’s his personality, his character.”
Mourinho’s confrontational approach has now cost him another job and Calderon insisted he was never the right fit for Real, criticising current president and arch-rival Florentino Perez for hiring the Portuguese.
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“All those things are incompatible with Real Madrid history, in my opinion,” added the 61-year-old, who snubbed the chance to bring Mourinho to the Bernabeu in 2008.
Indeed, Calderon did not even want to meet the former Porto manager.
He said: “His agent, told me, ‘President, when you meet Mourinho, you are not going to accept any other alternative. He’s the best’.
“I preferred not to meet him because my idea of the coach for Real Madrid was not Mourinho.
“I thought, ‘This is going to be a problem here’ – as it has been, unfortunately.”
He added: “He’s the coach with the worst track record at Real Madrid after three years. No coach at Real Madrid has won fewer titles.”
Calderon was surprised Abramovich would go back for Mourinho unless they had agreed what power each of them would wield.
“What I know is that he was sacked, because he didn’t want the owner to interfere in his job,” he said.
“What I’ve heard is that Abramovich said, ‘If you want money, you have to obey’.”
Mourinho’s impending departure at Real has fuelled speculation Cristiano Ronaldo could follow him back to England.
Ronaldo has only two years remaining on his contract and there is no sign of him agreeing an extension.
Calderon, who was responsible for the forward’s world-record move from Manchester United in 2009, said: “When there is only two years left, we’d try to extend the contract or sell the player.
“Because, in the last year, the player has no value.”
Gareth Bale has been touted as a possible replacement for Ronaldo and Calderon revealed that, were he still president, he would pull out all the stops to sign the Tottenham star.
“I’d try very hard,” he sai
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