Jose Mourinho has responded to questions about whether he would consider managing Celtic or Rangers in the future.
The Fenerbahce head coach is currently preparing his team to face Rangers in the Europa League last 16, with the first leg scheduled for Thursday night at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul, followed by the return leg at Ibrox next week.
Mourinho has managed in Portugal, England, Spain, and Italy, winning league titles in all four countries. He has also claimed the Champions League with Porto and Inter Milan, the Europa League with Manchester United, and the Conference League with Roma.
Now focused on achieving success in Turkey, the 62-year-old, who famously dubbed himself the ‘Special One’ upon his arrival at Chelsea in 2004, emphasized that he is content in his current role and not seeking opportunities elsewhere.
However, when asked during his pre-match press conference about the possibility of managing in Scotland one day, Mourinho admitted that he could be open to taking on the Celtic or Rangers job if the opportunity arose.
“In this moment, no, because I have a job that motivates me and a job that demands loyalty,” he told reporters. “But why not in the future? People can say that the Scottish league is a league of two teams, but it is a league of passion.
“For me, passion in football is everything. To play in empty stadiums or competitions where there is not that fire or passion, for me, that doesn’t make any sense.
“Celtic and Rangers are big clubs with big fanbases, big emotions, big responsibilities, big expectations. Why not? But in this moment I have a job.
“Celtic has a fantastic coach like Brendan [Rodgers]. Rangers has [Barry] Ferguson now, so full respect for them, and I am not searching for a new job.”
Mourinho had initially expected to face Philippe Clement in the dugout, but the Belgian was sacked by Rangers last week following a 2-0 home defeat to St Mirren. Instead, former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson will lead the Ibrox side into the Europa League clash.
“I know Barry Ferguson as a player,” Mourinho added. “I don’t know about his career as a manager. I respect the emotional bond between him and the club. That’s important to me. You can talk about negative things as a manager, but it will be different and difficult compared to the previous manager. Their previous manager was focused on philosophy. In football, philosophy alone is not enough, you have to win on the field. It will be a difficult match for us, but it will be difficult for Rangers too.”