Jose Mourinho and Jorge Valdano endured a frosty relationship during their time together at Real Madrid.
Real Madrid legend Jorge Valdano has hit out at Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, labelling him a “character tailored to these noisy and empty times.”
The pair endured a frosty relationship during Mourinho’s tenure at Madrid, with reports suggesting then-director general Valdano left his post after losing a power struggle with the Portuguese.
Mourinho is believed to have wanted Valdano released from his job, with the club then sacking the Argentine, thus strengthening the coach’s position at the Santiago Bernabeu.
And Valdano still appears to hold something against Mourinho, having chosen to criticise the Chelsea boss in his latest book, “The Eleven Powers Of The Leader.”
“I’ve never heard in public or in private a football statement from Mourinho worthy to be remembered,” Valdano wrote, as quoted by Marca and translated by the International Business Times.
“He is a character tailored to these noisy and empty times. I couldn’t understand him because he is in the antipodes of my sensitivity. Intelligence and ego are enemies. And when they collide, the ego wins.”
Valdano took another swipe at Mourinho by stating that his achievements pale in comparison with those of Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola.
“If Guardiola is Mozart, Mourinho is [Italian composer Antonio] Salieri. He would be a great musician if there were no Mozart,” Valdano added.
Valdano won La Liga twice as a player with Madrid, before guiding the club to the title as coach in 1995.
