José Mourinho has opened up on one of the most controversial periods of his career, revealing new details about his complicated relationship with Roman Abramovich, the former Chelsea owner who sacked the Portuguese coach twice, as part of a new documentary series on the "Netflix" platform reviewing his managerial career.
The 63-year-old is preparing to embark on a new experience with Real Madrid after returning to the Spanish club for a second spell. During the documentary he revisited memories of his tense relationship with Abramovich, which saw disagreements over how the team was run and the deals the club made during his first spell.
Chelsea sacked Mourinho for the first time in September 2007, after he led the team to major successes in the preceding years. He later returned to the club for a second spell.
But the relationship did not last. Chelsea sacked him once again in December 2015, bringing his second spell with the London club to a close amid difficult circumstances.
Speaking about his first spell, the Portuguese coach indicated that Abramovich began to interfere increasingly in the team's affairs. The signing of Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko, he stressed, was one of the most prominent points of contention between them.
Shevchenko: the signing Mourinho did not want
Shevchenko joined Chelsea in May 2006 from Milan for around 30 million pounds sterling, a record deal for the London club at the time. Hopes ran high that the Ukrainian striker would continue the brilliance he had shown in Italian and European football.
His experience in west London did not go as expected. Shevchenko scored only nine goals in the Premier League across 48 matches, over the three years he spent with Chelsea.
Mourinho believes signing Shevchenko was not his first choice, but he takes part of the responsibility because he did not oppose the deal publicly.
Mourinho said in comments reported by "BBC Sport": "Abramovich had an enormous passion for football, but he did not grasp the reality of the situation."
He added: "Shevchenko's name was put forward because of the relationships between the chairman and the players' agents. I never wanted to sign him, but I did not refuse it publicly, so the matter also falls within my responsibility."
The Portuguese coach revealed the striker he preferred instead, stressing that Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o was his favoured target to strengthen Chelsea's attack. "Do you want to know the player I wanted to sign?" he said. "It's Samuel Eto'o."
Years later, Eto'o proved one of the strikers who left the greatest mark on Mourinho's career. The pair worked together at Inter Milan, where the Cameroonian led the Italian side to a historic season, crowned with the treble of the league, the cup and the Champions League in 2010.
After his departure from Chelsea, the chance Mourinho had been waiting for arrived: a shot at his former club. But this was no ordinary encounter for the Portuguese coach.
In the 2009-2010 season, the draw for the round of 16 of the Champions League pitted Inter Milan against Chelsea, with Mourinho returning to "Stamford Bridge" a few years after his sacking.
Mourinho led Inter Milan to a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the first leg, before the Italian side sealed qualification to the quarter-finals after coming out on top 3-1 on aggregate over the two legs.
The matter did not stop at merely qualifying. Inter continued their journey until they were crowned Champions League winners at the end of the season, achieving one of the greatest titles in the club's history.
I needed revenge
Mourinho did not hide that facing Chelsea was, for him, more than just a Champions League match. Abramovich, he stressed, was present in his mind throughout the encounter.
He said: "I was playing against Roman in that match. I was playing against the man who sacked me, I wanted to go back home happy while he went back sad, because I know how much he loves Chelsea and how much he adores victories."
Those comments reveal the scale of the personal motivation that drove him during that encounter. He did not view it merely as a technical contest between Inter and Chelsea, but as an opportunity to respond to the man who decided to sack him from the London club.
Mourinho went even further, speaking frankly about his desire for revenge during the Inter and Chelsea encounter, and insisting that football belongs fundamentally to the players, the coaches and the fans.
He said: "I needed revenge, because football belongs to people like me. As for the others, they are intruders who do not belong to this world."
The coach concluded with a message reflecting his own philosophy towards the game, saying: "Football belongs to the players, the coaches and the fans, and it will always remain ours."
With that, Mourinho reopened one of the most controversial pages of his career. His relationship with Abramovich, he revealed, was not merely one between a coach and a club owner, but a struggle over vision, decision-making and control within Chelsea, the effects of which extended even after his departure from "Stamford Bridge".