Ajax’s players celebrate at the end of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg football match between Real Madrid CF and Ajax at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on March 5, 2019. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)
Jose Mourinho has not spoken to Real Madrid but has admitted he is ‘proud’ that their supporters chanted his name.
Los Blancos fans called for the Portuguese boss to return after their 4-1 thumping at the hands of Ajax on Tuesday night.
The defeat saw Real Madrid exit the Champions League at the last-16 stage after winning it in three consecutive seasons.
Mourinho, however, has distanced himself from reports that he is returning to the Santiago Bernabeu.
‘The chants? I am proud, but Real Madrid have a coach,’ Mourinho told El Chiringuito TV outside his house in London.
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‘Obviously I am proud, when you hear your name in that context, but there is nothing more than that because there has been nothing, not even the minimum contact.
‘I have not spoken to anyone and there a lot of rumours, but we all know that rumours in football are not good and they are not strong.
‘The result was surprising when you see what this club has done recently in this tournament, winning four out of five Champions League is incredible.
‘They know that when they have those victories I am happy for them and they know too that I am not happy about what happened at the end of my spell.
‘I have a lot of respect for what they have done because I do not think it will be repeated.’
Mourinho has been out of work since being sacked by Manchester United in December.
The Real Madrid fans will be hoping the ex-United boss can repeat his success during his three seasons at the club where he won one La Liga title, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
Mourinho won the Copa del Rey during his first season in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu and then led the Spanish heavyweights to the La Liga title during the following campaign.
He then signed a new four-year deal but left by mutual consent at the end of the 2012-13 season after falling out with several high-profile players including Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas.
