Jose Mourinho has been linked with a move to Al-Ahli in recent weeks and months but the Portuguese coach has spoken out about his future.
The current Roma coach has been preparing his team for the new Serie A season and could well have secured Champions League football but lost to Sevilla on penalties in a disappointing European Cup final.
Mourinho has been linked with becoming the next high-profile name to make the move to the Saudi Pro League with a raft of top-class players making the move, but there has been an absence of top-class managers making the move.
Nuno Espirito Santo, former Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers manager, currently manages Al-Ittihad but apart from that, there are not many top-level coaches in the league. Mourinho,60, may well be the ideal candidate for the Middle East.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid manager has been linked with Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal but it seems the manager isn’t interested in a move to the Middle East.
‘I’ve received two proposals from Saudi Arabia’
The Portuguese manager revealed in a press conference that he turned down a move to the Middle East.
“I’ve received two proposals: Al Hilal and Al Ahli wanted me,” the former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager said. “I decided to turn both down as I want to stay at Roma”, he told Corriere dello Sport.
This comes as Mourinho will be hoping to guide his Roma side to Champions League football this season with the new Serie A season kicking off in just under two weeks’ time when they take on Salernitana.
It seems Mourinho’s focus remains on staying in Europe and trying to lead Roma back into the Champions League and maybe even fighting for a Scudetto, as unlikely as that seems at this moment in time.
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