3 min readAug 11, 2026 10:43 PM IST
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho appeared to take a dig at eternal rival Pep Guardiola in a recently released Netflix documentary. In the documentary, simply titled “Mourinho”, Jose said that he hated the word ‘sabbatical’ or a voluntary break from coaching, terming in week.
For the uninitiated, Guardiola is currently on a sabbatical after ending a 10-year association with Manchester City. He had also taken an extended break after leaving Barcelona in 2012, joining Bayern Munich after one year.
“Some people need a sabbatical. For me, a sabbatical is a sign of weakness, something I hate. I hate that word. So don’t talk to me about it any further,” Mourinho said. “I want to win more titles,” he added.
In June, Mourinho made his return as Real Madrid manager. This will be the Portuguese’s second stint at Real after he had earlier spent 3 seasons starting in 2010. However, his time then was generally considered a disappointment, with only one La Liga title and one King’s Cup to his name among the three main competitions.
In his earlier stint, Mourinho managed some of the world’s best players in Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas among others. In his current stint, he will be again be in charge of a Madrid squad comprising the best players of this generation including Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr. among others.
In the same documentary, Mourinho said that he had initially “signed with” Manchester United to take over right after Alex Ferguson’s departure.
Mourinho, who had coached Real Madrid in La Liga from 2010 to 2013, eventually returned to the Premier League in the latter year for a second stint at the helm at Chelsea.
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“I go to Chelsea in 2013 but in that period there is something nobody knows,” the Portuguese said in a documentary, which is titled Mourinho, on Netflix. “I think I can say because I don’t hurt anyone with the truth, and I think the objective of this work that we are doing is to tell the truth. When I left Real Madrid, I signed with Manchester United to go to Manchester United after Sir Alex.”
“I was, of course, very flattered, because Manchester United has an incredible appeal. When I say Real Madrid is the biggest club in the world, I have to say that Manchester United is very, very close.
“But one thing is love for football, and another thing is love for a certain club. I think this is more powerful than love for football and, fundamentally, after Real Madrid, I needed to feel that I’m loved.”