Jose Mourinho did not hold back in his most recent press conference when he brutally responded to criticism he received from Antonio Cassano.
The former Roma, Real Madrid and Inter Milan forward, who made 39 appearances for Italy during his professional career, recently gave his not-so-subtle thoughts on rumours surrounding Mourinho's potential return to the Bernabeu.
Speaking to Bobo TV, Cassano said: "He can return to Real Madrid if Ancelotti does not continue, but if Los Blancos want a coach, they will not call Mourinho for their new project. Mou doesn’t give a s*** about football.
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The Italian added: "He doesn’t like to work, he doesn’t know how to communicate or speak, let’s not be fooled by his story.”
Then, when asked about Mourinho’s CV in management, Cassano said: “I don’t know how he achieves those results, because it’s just cinema. He was a great coach, but right now he can train Real Madrid, as he can also train San Martines.”
Just days after those comments and Jose Mourinho has hit back in typical Mourinho fashion.
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Speaking at a press conference this weekend, the self-confessed 'Special One' said Cassano is only remembered in Madrid for the jacket he wore when he was announced as a Los Blancos player in 2006.
He then told Cassano to "be careful" with a parting message.
“Everyone is free to have their preferences and make their criticism, but when talking about others, like Antonio does, it’s different," Mourinho said.
“Some of us work in football, he just wants to enjoy himself. Cassano played for Roma, for Inter and for Real Madrid. In Madrid he is only remembered for his jacket. With Roma he won a Supercoppa without playing. At Inter he didn’t even manage the Lombardy Cup in a friendly.
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“You know what I won with Inter, Real Madrid and Roma. He might have a problem with me, I do not have a problem with him. I will tell Cassano just one thing: careful Antonio, for you are 40 years old and I am 60, at times Marko Livaja types turn up and then it gets tough.”
This isn't the first time Cassano has ripped into Mourinho. Back in February, he said the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager has "never been a great coach" and has delivered "disaster upon disaster" at Serie A side Roma.
“Mourinho has never been a great coach, he just knew how to play the media and was a great communicator," the 40-year-old said.
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"He is good at dealing with strong players, not ones who aren’t very good. It’s too easy to just be friendly with great players."
Cassano went on to criticise Mourinho's activity in the transfer market. "It is just a disaster upon a disaster at Roma, he got them to spend money on Nemanja Matic and Rui Patricio, they were his decisions," he added.
"The other day, that performance made me want to vomit. He doesn’t know how to set out a team. Even with your second-string squad, you need to beat Cremonese.”
Thoughts on Mourinho's response to Cassano?
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Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/ASRomaPartite/AlamyTopics: Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid, La Liga
