José Mourinho has recently revealed a private conversation he had with Florentino Perez during his time as Real Madrid manager.
José Mourinho managed Real Madrid between the years 2010–2013. All in all, he was a successful manager, winning La Liga, Supercopa de España and Copa del Rey.
Looking at his honours list with the expectations Real Madrid have today, it would be easy for modern Real Madrid fans to tarnish José Mourinho as unsuccessful.
However, what must be realised is that part of the reason why Real Madrid have the standards they have today is because of José Mourinho changing the club culture and turning the roster, as well as the higher-ups, into serial winners. That impact must not be overlooked in hindsight.
José Mourinho leaks private conservation with Real Madrid president
Indeed, José Mourinho was held in high regard by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. Despite Mourinho's decision to leave the club in 2013, the Portuguese manager recalls his departure being amicable with Florentino Perez holding his space.
In fact, Mourinho recalls regretting the decision to leave Real Madrid, mostly because of Florentino Perez asking him to stay. While speaking to CorSport, Mourinho had a telling story to recall about his departure.
In his own words (quoted by Fabrizio Romano), José Mourinho said: “Saying no to Florentino Perez remains one of the big regrets. He told me: Don’t leave now, you've done the hard part and the good part is yet to come. Stay at Real Madrid. But I wanted to return to Chelsea after 3 tough years in Spain!”
If anything, this goes to show how level-headed Florentino Perez was, and still is. During the José era, it was easy for Real Madrid to become frustrated and wish for more. Yet, Perez saw beyond this and recognised that Real Madrid would only improve when the foundations had been set.
If José would have stayed at Real Madrid, he might have become one of the most successful managers in club history. However, nobody can blame him for wanting to return to his beloved Chelsea after a stressful period of time in the Spanish capital.
Still, there remains plenty of respect between José Mourinho and Real Madrid. The legendary coach has never said a bad word about his time in Madrid and those Real Madrid fans who are old enough to remember his time will recall only good memories of José's character.