‘When you get a coach like Jose, you have to get used to rumours’: Roma insist they can count on Mourinho for the future amid rumors he wants as Portugal’s next manager, but admit they are NOT give him the center-back he wants
Roma director Tiago Pinto believes his manager Jose Mourinho is going nowhere, following heavy links to him replacing Fernando Santos as Portugal boss.
Mourinho’s contract at Roma runs until 2024, however, the 59-year-old has been earmarked as a candidate for the vacant post at Portugal, following the sacking of Fernando Santos after the World Cup.
Speculation over his future has not been a distraction for Mourinho during the club’s hot holiday in Portugal and Pinto believes it is only natural for his manager to be linked with the job.
Jose Mourinho is one of the names being linked with the vacant Portugal manager’s job
But in an interview with La Gazzetta Dello Sport, Pinto said Mourinho’s future lies in the Italian capital.
‘When you get a coach like Mourinho, you have to be used to rumours.’ Said the director of Rome.
‘This is the first time in 18 months that a club or a Federation is interested in him. We have no distractions in the Algarve, we just focus on work. I’m Portuguese and every time we change coaches, Mourinho is mentioned, but we count on him for the future.
Jose Mourinho’s immediate focus is his desire to add a new centre-back to his Roma side. However, despite being vocal about adding a defender since the summer, the request has been hampered by the club’s Financial Fair Play situation.
Roma director Tiago Pinto (right) is keen to back his current manager in the transfer market
Tiago admitted that Roma will do their best to meet his coaches’ demands although they must deal with UEFA’s FFP rules.
‘I always say I agree with him.’ said Pinto on the subject of adding a new centre-half to the squad.
‘We played a three-man defence, but we only had four center backs and we needed five. Technically, each new signing depends on who leaves.
This interview allows me to say that it is not easy to work within the parameters of FFP that we have to follow for the next four years.’
Roma was bought by the Friedkin family in 2020, and Pinto was appointed director of the club the following year. Since investing in the club, the family has signed several high-profile players, and hired Jose Mourinho as manager.
Pinto has overseen a number of big names that have arrived at Roma this season including Paulo Dybala in the summer
This summer, names including Paulo Dybala and Nemanja Matic have joined the club, but Pinto admits they can’t always get what their coach needs.
‘We have signed 14 players in the last year and a half, Friedkin has invested €150m in the market since they arrived. Last year [2021] Roma are the top-spending team in Serie A, around €90m with Tammy Abraham at €40m.
‘This season we signed Dybala, Wijnaldum, Matic and Belotti. If we had told the fans two years ago that these players along with Mourinho would join the team, they would not have believed it. In fact, enthusiasm in Rome exploded.
‘It is not always possible to get what we want. Due to UEFA restrictions, we cannot identify the players we want and ask the owners to make an extra effort. I can’t say that we have all the players we dreamed of, but we have the requirements for our targets, which we can sign. We live in the real world, not just the work of desires.’
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