Blues may lose out on their top managerial target to surprise contenders.
Big-spending Ligue 2 side AS Monaco are trying to steal coach Jose Mourinho from under the noses of Chelsea, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
It had been widely assumed in the world of football that the in-demand Real Madrid manager would depart the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season to re-join former club Chelsea.
However, in an unexpected twist to events it now appears as though the Portuguese could end up at a different club after all, and not one previously mentioned when the ‘Special One’s’ list of possible destinations this summer have been mentioned in the past.
And that is because the mega-rich French club are now being bankrolled by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, a man determined to bring the glory days back to the Principality outfit.
Monaco are currently sitting top of Ligue 2 and are set for a return to the French top flight this summer, but their ambitious owner wants his team to win the Uefa Champions League and for that to happen, he believes he needs the world’s best coach.
Mourinho is expected to make a final decision on his future at the end of the season.