Options running out for Mourinho

Jose Mourinho’s hints of an imminent return to England after Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final exit to Borussia Dortmund may have been more desperate than they first looked.

Once Howard Webb’s final whistle had ended Madrid’s last hopes of pulling off what would have been another of the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu club’s historic comebacks, Mourinho’s mind focused in on next season — and which club he would like to be at.

His answers in English at the post-game conference centred on his great relationship with Premier League fans and journalists, and the bond he felt with one club in particular. No-one in the Bernabeu press room doubted he was referring to former side Chelsea.