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Lord of the Rings star says he 'loathes' Mourinho

ESPN staff
March 22, 2015
Jose Mourinho has yet to respond to Viggo Mortensen's criticism © Getty Images
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Jose Mourinho has never been one to shy away from confrontation, and his somewhat aggressive style has made him a number of high-profile enemies throughout his managerial career.

From Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger to Iker Casillas and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese has been more than willing to ruffle a few feathers in his time. But now he may have pushed it too far, as Lord of the Rings trilogy star Viggo Mortensen - also known as Aragorn, King of all men - has revealed his distaste for the Chelsea manager.

Mortensen, who will forever be known as the great nemesis of the dark lord Sauron in the adaptation of Tolkein's fantasy classic, is a devoted Real Madrid supporter and said the club has been scarred by Mourinho's three seasons in charge at the Spanish club.

"There's a real character whom I loathe but find entertaining: Jose Mourinho," Mortensen told Grantland.

"I like Real Madrid, and when Mourinho coached them he basically destroyed the team psychologically. The damage he did to the fan base and the whole structure of the club will last for a while."

Mortensen, who has also starred in A History of Violence and The Road, took particular pleasure in Chelsea's elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.

"Chelsea should have creamed them," he said. "But it ended up being an epic 120 minutes, with comeback after comeback, and even though Paris was playing with a numerical disadvantage, they kept playing really beautiful, pure football, and Chelsea was just playing not to lose.

"It was great, dramatic. It was almost like watching a movie."

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