Jose Mourinho has a golden opportunity to make a point to Real Madrid when the Chelsea manager faces his old club in Miami on Wednesday.
Mourinho will go head to head with Madrid in the final of the International Champions Cup just three months after his acrimonious departure from the Spanish giants.
After feeling unloved for much of his time in Madrid, the Portuguese coach is enjoying his second spell at Chelsea, where he is treated with total respect following his Premier League title triumphs in 2005 and 2006.
The hero worship that follows his every move in the Premier League is a far cry from the hostile reaction to his presence in Spain.
By the time he departed Madrid, Mourinho had made numerous enemies among the squad, with his decision to drop iconic goalkeeper Iker Casillas an especially sore point, as well as falling out with some of the club’s hierarchy, while fans jeered the manager in the final weeks of last season.
Little wonder that Mourinho, speaking to ESPN on Monday, took the opportunity for a swipe at Madrid’s culture of political intrigue.
“Madrid is politics. Madrid is not about football, Madrid is not about sport,” he said.
Mourinho also had a dig at Ronaldo by declaring “the real Ronaldo” was the Brazilian international who featured for AC Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona, where the two worked together during Mourinho’s tenure as translator and assistant coach in 1996 and 1997.
Madrid’s spending is in stark contrast to the more austere times at Stamford Bridge.