Jose Mourinho has aimed a clear dig at his long-time rival Pep Guardiola, declaring that a "sabbatical means weakness" as the Catalan takes time away from management.
Guardiola recently ended his 10-year tenure at Manchester City and, despite offers in international football, has opted for a break. He notably took a year off after leaving Barcelona in 2012 before joining Bayern Munich.
It was his fierce battles with Mourinho's Real Madrid during his Barcelona days that prompted Guardiola's first sabbatical. Known for his intense approach, Guardiola's need for a reset is understandable.
Mourinho's Stance on Sabbaticals
However, the Special One has stressed he has never needed time out of the game. His spells away from management have only occurred while waiting for the right job, and he insists sabbaticals are not for him.
In his Netflix documentary, Mourinho said: "Some guys, they need a sabbatical – which is something that I hate. I hate that word. For me, sabbatical means weakness. Don’t speak with me about sabbaticals. I never need a rest. I will have a rest when he (Mourinho points to the sky) decides to say: ‘Come up’."
Since his rise to prominence with Porto in the early 2000s, Mourinho's longest stint out of management was 11 months, between his Manchester United sacking in December 2018 and his appointment at Tottenham in November 2019.
Future Plans
Now 63, Mourinho has returned to Real Madrid for a second spell this summer on a three-year contract. The Portuguese boss admits he cannot foresee a day when he is not in management.
He said: "I cannot even imagine when I am going to stop my life in football. I say 10 more years, but maybe more than 10. It’s fun. It was, it is and will always be fun. I want to win more titles. I want to win new titles. I want to repeat titles."
He added: "I want to do it in places where I have never been. I want to do it in places where I did before. My world is to walk in a football stadium with 50,000 or 90,000 [fans]. I had 100,000. That is my world."
"Without football, there is not something complete in me. But I don’t think it is an obsession. I don’t feel it as an obsession. It is just when you reach a certain level, you want to stay there forever."
