I’m at Chelsea for long haul, insists Mourinho

London is clearly the special place for the special one.

Jose Mourinho has declared that he is in for the long haul in his second time around in west London, citing his and his family’s love of the English capital as one of the main reasons he was happy to return to Chelsea. The well-travelled Mourinho has never spent more than three years at any club but now insists that he wants to make Stamford Bridge his permanent home.

“I’m not here thinking about my next move because I don’t want to have a next move,” he told the Evening Standard.

“I will have a next move if and when Chelsea decides it’s time for that. I’m not chasing new experiences, trying to find where I like it more, where I can make new things for my career — no.

“It’s a completely different perspective. I’m here to stay. I belong to Chelsea, Chelsea belong to me. I gave a lot to Chelsea in the past but they also gave a lot to me. This is a different professional relationship.”

Even after leaving Chelsea under a cloud in 2007, Mourinho repeatedly stressed his love for the club and the city, a feeling shared by his wife Tami, daughter Matilde and son Jose Jr. Jose Jr is currently cutting his football teeth at Fulham’s Academy, a short distance from Stamford Bridge.

“More than one year ago, even before I decided to stay in Madrid for one or two more years, our decision was made,” Mourinho revealed.

“We wanted to go to England next because we feel it’s the best for all four, as a family and me as a professional.

“In this moment there is a lot of maturity in the family. I have a 17-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. In the beginning of my career it was not so difficult for them to move but they have entered into an age where moving is not easy. There was lots of communication and they knew for them that London would be fantastic. A university career is a target for my daughter, my wife just loves the city to live in. We kept our house from last time and, although we tried to hide it, we came lots of times.

“The success I had in my career gave me the possibility to choose my destiny. When I made the decision, I didn’t know if Chelsea would be available and if the door would be open but when it did, the picture was perfect for me.”

Asked what continues to motivate him, Mourinho replied: “Lots of things drive me. First of all I want to enjoy my life and football is part of that. My wife knows that, my kids know that. From them there is not one bit of talk that one day you have to retire. It’s the opposite. Sometimes in a funny way they imagine me as an old man still being a manager. They know I want to do it for a long time. I love the day-to-day of football, more than that I love the game, more than that I love the big game.

“Football is an important part of my life. I always want to do it at the top. I don’t want to do it where one day I relax, go to an easy job or a country where my club is the best by far, without any problem.”

Mourinho is on a four-year contract with Chelsea and believes his job is nothing less than to build a team for the ages — though, with the side currently well-placed one point behind leaders Man City in the Premier League not, he hastens to add, at the expense of short-term success.

“Many people told me Chelsea supporters will expect me to do the same as before,” he said. “I was never worried about that. I was sure about people’s trust. In the same way people know I built a Chelsea team that lasted seven/eight years and was in place to fight for titles even after my departure, I know that I’m going to do the same [this time].

“People trust me and I like that feeling. People know I am one of them so they know that my happiness in the good moments is more than a normal manager and my sadness is more, too.

“Normally I’d say the second and third seasons together are the best ones. But it is Chelsea’s mentality, my DNA, to try to challenge now.”