Jose Mourinho has paid a classy tribute to Steven Gerrard now he’s leaving the Premier League

Smoke, meet bottom.

The long goodbye is finally coming to close this month as Steven Gerrard gets ready to depart the Premier League. This weekend he'll face the club that he could have joined twice, Chelsea, who are already the champions. The Blues have absolutely nothing to play for, apart from wrecking the Reds chances of making a late spurt for the final Champions League place. The game comes over 12 months since Gerrard's infamous 'slip' against Chelsea that handed the title to Manchester City, and before this weekend's game Jose Mourinho has been soft soaping the Liverpool captain. The Chelsea boss, who has previously described not getting to sign Gerrard as one of his biggest regrets, feels that Gerrard was one of the key reason he's the insufferable moaning douche incredibly successful manager that he is.

'I tried to bring him to Chelsea, Inter & Real Madrid, but he remained a dear enemy. To stop him, or to try to stop him, is very difficult. I'm very sad it's the last time I will play against him. 'It is because of opponents like him, that I am the manager I am. I learn through my players and through my best opponents and the problems they give me, the way they make me think and analyse them. 'Steven Gerrard is for sure one of my favourite enemies. An enemy with all the good feeling I can express.'

We'd like to think its a classy tribute from the Chelsea boss but we wonder if Liverpool were challenging for the title if he would have been so effusive ion his praise. The Chelsea boss has also compared Gerrard's departure to that of Frank Lampard's last season,

'I am sad he is leaving the same as our Frank Lampard. 'But Frank is a Chelsea legend and it's a different situation because Steven was always on the other side. I tried to bring him to Chelsea, I tried to bring him to Inter, I tried to bring him to Real Madrid but he was always with the enemy.' 'I want to honour him and I hope Stamford Bridge has the same feeling.' 'It's too late to sign him. He can't play against Liverpool. He's done an amazing career with his people. He refused to play in other big clubs, other big leagues to play only for Liverpool and this is a feeling that stays together.'

H/t to the Express