Jose Mourinho has confessed that he came dangerously close to leaving AS Roma in the previous year despite getting back on track.
As the Portuguese player became increasingly dissatisfied with the amount of financial resources available to him at Roma, rumors began to circulate that he could make a sensational return to the Blues. The Italian club brought in five players on free transfers during the summer of 2016, including Paulo Dybala, Georginio Wijnaldum, and Nemanja Matic. The team’s total transfer spending came to slightly under $7 million.
It was rumored that Mourinho was also interested in relocating to London, where he has spent the most of the last two decades, ever since his first stint as manager at Stamford Bridge. And as Roma and record signing Tammy Abraham were going through a rough stretch in their play, the 60-year-old was debating what course of action to take.
This season, there was a little stretch where I questioned whether or not Abraham was the right choice. It is not about his abilities as a player, but rather about him personally; he went through a rough patch. Now, despite this, he continues to make a significant impact even if he does not score a goal, as Mourinho explained.
“In the second half, he was outstanding in every aspect of the game, including keeping the ball, contributing to the defense, and interacting extremely effectively with Paulo. It’s a turning point for him in a positive direction.”
He continued by saying, “This is my life, and every day is a game, but I could have left in December and I didn’t.” It may look like we are having trouble at times, but the reality is that we are right there with all of the other people who are really strong.
On Saturday afternoon, Roma defeated Empoli by a score of 2-0 to go back on track with their winning ways. Roger Ibanez gave Mourinho’s team the lead, and then Abraham scored just his second goal in five games to give them a much-needed three points in their pursuit of a berth in the Champions League. Abraham’s goal was just his second in five outings.
They are currently in third place, tied with Inter Milan for second place in terms of points, although competition is fierce at the top of the table below Napoli, who are a long way ahead in first place. And following his team’s victory over Empoli, he admitted that it was a significant victory in the push for a top-four finish in the competition.
Mourinho continued, saying, “We watched the first half an hour with a great gameplan.” After a while, the intensity lessened, not because I wanted it to, but because that is how we are by nature. While Paulo struggled with his fitness level, Lorenzo Pellegrini put in an incredible amount of work to be able to compete.
“I am content that we are able to work within our constraints while still accomplishing what we have to. I informed Paolo Zanetti that we earned three points despite competing against a challenging opposition. At the moment, Empoli are in terrific health, probably the best in the league, and I consider this win to be significant because it was achieved against a very difficult team.