JOSE Mourinho is back in football and it has not taken him long to ensure he is back in the headlines. The new Inter Milan coach spent yesterday courting Chelsea pair Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba and rubbishing comments from Barcelona that he first pursued the Nou Camp job before he was appointed to his post at the San Siro.
Mourinho was left fuming when Barca vice-president Marc Ingla told Catalunya Radio the former Chelsea coach instigated a meeting with the club but that Pep Guardiola was always first choice to replace Frank Rijkaard.
Mourinho has angrily denied t
he claims, insisting that he met with Ingla and sporting director Txiki Begiristain at their request.
"I don't want to waste time with things that don't interest me," he told Portuguese reporters. "And at the moment only Inter interests me.
"But Mr Ingla is lying, because he and Mr Begiristain asked me for a meeting in Lisbon."
Mourinho revealed that such a meeting did take place, organised by his agent, Jorge Mendes, and that Barca wanted him to be involved in their plans for the future.
However, the 45-year-old – who worked as assistant coach for four years at the Nou Camp – refused to disclose any other details. "Let Barca work to achieve happiness, which is what I am doing at Inter," Mourinho added. "But I will not allow Ingla or anyone else to put my reputation in doubt."
Mourinho is looking forward to his first season in Serie A and he has admitted that he is ready to launch a transfer raid on Stamford Bridge in a bid to be reunited with both Lampard and Drogba. It is the first time Mourinho has spoken about his transfer plans and his comments come amid reports that Lampard's talks over a new Chelsea contract have hit a snag over the duration of the new deal.
Lampard, who turns 30 today, wants to stay at Chelsea but is demanding a four-year extension to his current contract. The club are reportedly only prepared to offer him half that.
The England midfielder will have talks with Luiz Felipe Scolari when the new Blues boss begins work with the English club on 1 July.
But it is now clear Mourinho is ready to offer one of his favourite players a way out of the club with a £10million bid.
Mourinho, who is also keen to sign Barcelona's Deco – who he managed at Porto and who is also a target for Chelsea – said: "I am not nostalgic but I really like those three players, they helped me win some great titles.
"I cannot forget Deco, Lampard and Drogba. These are players who I could never say no to. I would love to work with them again in the future, but I am not too obsessed with this idea."
Meanwhile, AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani insists Emmanuel Adebayor is the Serie A club's sole transfer target this summer, ruling out moves for rumoured targets Drogba and Samuel Eto'o.
Arsenal are reluctant to part with their star forward, who last season found the net 30 times in 48 outings. Galliani, though, was adamant the Italian club will chase Adebayor until they are convinced they can do no more to persuade Arsenal to sell. "We are in negotiations with Arsenal, who are not willing to sell at the moment," he said.
The full article contains 572 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
