For those who follow football closely, Jose Mourinho can often remind them of that infamous line from “Scarface.” As main character Tony Montana (as played by Al Pacino) famously said “I always tell the truth; even when I lie.” Basically it means, even if you disagree with his general premise, you have to admit he made some great points.
Mourinho was doing color commentary work for TNT Sports tonight at the UEFA Champions League Final, ahead of his move to Fenerbahce.
The Portugese was asked about Jadon Sancho, who now heads back to Manchester United, with his loan deal at Borussia Dortmund having now completed. Sancho utterly flopped at United, a club where he will never play again. But where he goes next remains to be seen.
Mourinho gave a brutally honest but still very fair and completely professional take on Sancho. Watch the clip below:
Quite a fair assessment from Jose on Sancho I can’t lie. pic.twitter.com/W8PwuiLAZo
— Frank??? (fan) (@TenHagEra) June 1, 2024
Hostess Laura Woods really tried to drill home the “Erik ten Hag is to blame” narrative, even trying to outright bait Jose into saying it. Mourinho didn’t fall for it.
Also you got to love his “I’m sorry…my English (is not good),” and then, a few seconds later, he starts using the word “multifactorial.” LOLOLOLOLOLOL! While there is a lot to say about what went wrong with Sancho at United, we kind of already covered that, in spades, so that topic is long tired.
Besides, Jose as his own stories and experiences from being at United, and having it not work out. He hinted at that there, mentioning it briefly.
In other Jose Mourinho at the Champions League Final news, the mother of Jude Bellingham really wanted to take a photo with The Special One, so of course that transpired., with the Real Madrid superstar himself snapping the photo.
“Sorry about that, my mum’s fancied you for years!” ??
We’re all here for Jude Bellingham’s mum asking for a picture with Jose Mourinho ?#UCLfinal | @BellinghamJude pic.twitter.com/6j96sy7wUG
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) June 1, 2024
For Bellingham, it was an ultra-sweet experience to win the European Cup at the national stadium of his home country. He even started to tear up during his post match interview, triggered by talking about winning it all, with both of his parents in attendance.
This video of Bellingham giving his game-worn shirt to his mom is going viral.
Jude Bellingham giving his match-worn shirt to his mum ??#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/wyP2ne4TTN
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) June 1, 2024
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.