Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho insists he always had respect for Arsene Wenger even during their heated run-ins.
Wenger announced on Friday that he will step down as manager of Arsenal at the end of the season after 21-and-a-half years at the club.
Jose Mourinho has been critical of the Frenchman in the past, previously labelling him a “specialist in failure” and a “voyeur,” but the Portuguese coach insists he never lost admiration for his adversary.
“If he’s happy I’m happy, if he’s sad, I’m sad,” Mourinho told a news conference in London on Friday ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup semifinal against Tottenham. “I always wish the best for my opponents.
“You don’t know the way we respect each other even when sometimes it doesn’t look like we don’t.
“Players that get yellow cards and red cards by aggressive actions against each other — the manager is the same thing but the ones that respect more each other are the ones with the problems.
“It’s power and ambition and quality against each other but in the end it’s people from the same business and we respect each others’ careers.”
Mourinho will go head-to-head with Wenger one more time when Arsenal visit Old Trafford next weekend.
Mourinho hopes the former Monaco and Grampus Eight boss will continue to work in football following his Emirates exit.
He added: “I know what it means, three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups, what he did in Japan and France, what he brought to French football and what he gave to Arsenal in the period without Premier Leagues, the transition from stadium to stadium, we know what he did.
“If he’s happy with the decision, I’m really happy and I hope he doesn’t retire from football.”
Asked whether he regretted many of his spats with Wenger, which were often characterised by the strength of Mourinho’s response, he was dismissive: “It’s not about regretting. I think your question is a typical question from somebody that was not a manager, not a player. Of course, you don’t know the way we respect each other even when sometimes it doesn’t look like we don’t.
“Players that get yellow cards and red cards by aggressive actions against each other, bad words during the career – the manager is the same thing. The ones that respect each other more are the ones with the problems. It’s power against power; ambition against ambition; quality against quality. But in the end it’s people from the same business who respect one another’s careers.
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