Chelsea winger Willian has admitted his admiration for former manager and current Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, and while he has a contract with Chelsea through the summer of 2020, he’s hoping to team up with his former gaffer in the future.
“Mourinho is the best manager I’ve ever worked with,” Willian told ESPN Brasil. “We have a good relationship, we are friends. Sometimes we talk, we text, we send messages to each other via WhatsApp. He is a great manager, I really enjoyed working with him. I hope I can work with him again someday.”
That’s quite the endorsement from a player on a fellow Premier League title contender, especially on the heels of the criticism Mourinho has received for his treatment of Paul Pogba.
Willian has been the subject of numerous transfer rumors this summer after a so-so performance at the World Cup in Russia. After the Community Shield loss to Manchester City on Sunday, Willian affirmed his desire to remain at Stamford Bridge, saying, “I always made it clear that what I wanted was to stay in the club.”
He confirmed Barcelona made an official bid, but with no movement, that didn’t come to fruition. Still, he wishes his former boss would come calling. “Mourinho talks to my agent all the time, he says ‘bring him, bring him’,” Willian said. “He has never called me, but he always sends me text messages.”