Jose Mourinho, the current coach of Roma, is on his way to reaching his sixth European final as a coach, after his team won a close 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals at the Olympic Stadium. Last season, the Portuguese coach earned the title of “king of Rome” when he guided the Italian Serie A team to their first Europa League victory in 14 years, a significant achievement for the club.
Will Mourinho go to Paris?
Despite the possibility of consecutive European titles, questions remain about how long Mourinho will stay in the Italian capital to enjoy the recognition. Mourinho’s contract with Roma will continue until the summer of 2024, but recent rumors suggest that he may accept his eleventh managerial challenge this summer, with Paris Saint-Germain.
Although the 60-year-old coach jokingly dismissed these speculations in an interview with Sky Sport Italia, saying “If they call, they won’t find me,” Roma’s chances of reaching the Champions League depend on their performance in the Europa League. Currently in seventh place in the Italian Serie A, Mourinho may be tempted to take up the offer if he receives a call.
Mourinho’s record of winning five out of five European finals is likely to attract attention, especially since the club has struggled on Europe’s biggest stage. Paris Saint-Germain’s recent elimination from the Champions League Round of 16 against Bayern Munich was just the latest disappointment in a competition that has been an obsession for the club since their Qatari ownership in 2011. It is expected that the current coach, Christophe Galtier, will leave at the end of the season.
Despite the potential need for a major squad restructuring this summer, Roma is expected to present a much larger transfer budget than the €9m they spent last summer. According to Italian football journalist James Horncastle on the Euro Leagues podcast, “I think Mourinho sees Roma as a way to return to another big job. He can reasonably claim that he has achieved success at Roma, where they won their first title in 14 years and came close to another European final. He is someone who ultimately wants to win wherever he goes, and I think he feels that in Rome, unless they start changing their strategy and spending more money, they won’t be able to win the league. He wants a project that befits his legacy again, and that will be an opportunity to compete for the Champions League.”
Does Paris Saint-Germain really need Mourinho’s services?
Despite recent setbacks with his departures from Manchester United and Tottenham, Jose Mourinho remains one of the most respected names in football management. His tactical prowess and ability to earn the respect of star-studded dressing rooms are still widely recognized.
Spanish journalist Guillem Balague believes that PSG needs a manager who can come in and take charge, with the authority to select his players and build the team accordingly. “They don’t need someone to reinvent the wheel,” Balague says. “They need someone to organize them from the top and provide direction.”
Meanwhile, French football journalist Julien Laurens points out that Jorge Mendes, Mourinho’s agent and close friend, is also a friend of PSG’s sporting director, Luis Campos. “Mendes is very influential,” says Laurens, “and I’m sure that Mourinho’s name has come up in a shortlist of managers to replace Christophe Galtier. There are favorable grounds in Campos for Mourinho to potentially become the manager, but only time will tell.”
