The build up to tonight’s Champions League last-16 clash between Paris St-Germain and Chelsea has been odd to say the least.
On the one-hand there is a reunion of the jovial ‘banter’ between the official Twitter accounts of the two sides, though Chelsea have somewhat thrillingly stayed silent so far.
Yes, we are aware at how ridiculous it sounds to describe the silence of an official Twitter account of billion-dollar football club fuelled by the petrodollars of a reclusive Russian oligarch as ‘thrilling’, but these are the times we live in. Don’t blame us.
On the other hand there has been Jose Mourinho winding things up by saying he turned down the chance to manage the Paris St-Germain ‘project’ when he was at Real Madrid.
‘I know the PSG project well because when they started this project, with the owner, the president and Leonardo, I was to be the coach. I met them in Qatar but I was with Real Madrid and it was a big challenge to compete directly against Barcelona, probably the best team in Europe for the last decade. It was not the right moment for me.’
So far, so classic Mourinho. ‘Your project is great. I could have been in charge of it if I wanted. But I didn’t want to.’
Well the esteemed France Football have had enough of what the British press would call ‘mind games’ and have published a picture of Mourinho on their front page with the headline ‘L’Emmerdeur’.
The Guardian reports the polite translation of this as being ‘a pain in the neck’. The more accurate translation is ‘sh*t stirrer’.
Inside France Football repeat the claim but add that he is a ‘l’emmerdeur professionnel’.
We reckon you can figure out the translation of that yourself.
Hat tip to the Guardian.
