• Premier League

Chelsea are in Jose Mourinho's heart

Jose Mourinho has once again dangled a carrot in front of Chelsea, with the Real Madrid manager insisting they are in his heart.

Mourinho's tenure at Real Madrid seems to be drawing to a close, amid reports that he will be leaving Spain at the end of the season to seek a new challenge.

Mourinho was a huge success during his time at Stamford Bridge, guiding the west London club to their first league title in 50 years, while also picking up a number of other trophies.

The Portuguese says he will always have a special place for Chelsea and England in his heart, and one day wants to be back in the Premier League. And with Rafael Benitez seemingly set to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer, the speculation has continued.

"I have big emotional connections with Chelsea and one day I think, naturally, I have to be back to English football," he said. "To Chelsea or to another club. Of course Chelsea means to me differently what other clubs do. Chelsea is in my heart like Inter [Milan] is and so one day I have to be back."

Mourinho is currently in London taking advantage of the international break, but he insists that while he does have a love for the city and would like to return, he is only thinking about Madrid at the moment.

"Every time I come to London people start making connections to me returning," he told Sky Sports News. "I fear it a little bit because I say every day when I have the chance that I love it here, that I have spent fantastic times here and I will return here one day.

"To be fair, I give it a little bit of motivation for that speculation because I love it here but at the end of the day I am in Madrid and I am very, very committed to the ambitions of the club for the remainder of the season. We are in the last stages of the Champions League, we have a [Copa del Rey] final to play against our rivals Atletico Madrid.

"People that know me, know that I am a professional. In this moment, I only speak about my job with Real."

With speculation mounting as to when exactly Sir Alex Ferguson will retire from managerial duties at Manchester United, Mourinho has often been touted as the Scot's successor.

Mourinho, though, says he would rather see his friend Ferguson at the helm at Old Trafford for the foreseeable future, while he also ruled out the possibility of a move to Manchester City.

"I think Manchester [United] is Sir Alex's kingdom and I would love that job to be his job forever," he said. "Of course it cannot be forever but I would love it to be for many, many, many years.

"And the other club in Manchester is Roberto with a contract. He was a champion a year ago so I don't think there is a move there. I hope everything goes well for everybody, even Benitez, I hope things go well for him. I wish for them to finish the season well."

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