Former Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho reveals why he didn’t join José Mourinho’s Inter in 2009 and that Cristiano Ronaldo dreamed of winning the Champions League at Juventus.
The ex-Blues defender played 292 games under Mourinho during his career but could have collected more had he joined Inter in 2009.
“Chelsea didn’t want to sell him at that time and I respected their decision,” he told Tuttojuve.
“I felt well in London, Mourinho insisted on signing me, but in the end, he got another great defender like Lucio.”
How does he rate Mourinho’s first season at Roma?
“I don’t think he is happy, he is so only when he wins,” the former defender said, smiling.
“He is doing a blood job. Roma is a great challenge for him. His target is to win with the Giallorossi, but Serie A isn’t simple. There are teams like Milan, Inter, Juve and Napoli but I am sure Mourinho will be a title contender next season.”
Mourinho’s Roma sit fifth in Serie A, but have a chance to win the first trophy since 2008. They are in the Conference League semis and picked up a 1-1 draw away at Leicester City in the first leg yesterday.
How about Cristiano Ronaldo? He scored 101 goals in 134 appearances with Juventus, but he seemed to have flopped in Turin as the Bianconeri didn’t win the Champions League during his three-year spell at the club.
“Juventus are no longer accustomed to reaching the Final or the semis every season,” said Carvalho.
“The name or the team’s strength is not enough to win the Champions League, a competition made of details. Cristiano’s dream was to win the Champions League at Juventus, but unfortunately, they lacked something to do so.”
The Portuguese star returned to Manchester United in the summer in a €15m deal plus €8m add-ons.
Carvalho won the Champions League in 2004 with Porto and became European champion with his country in 2016. After the end of his playing career, the 43-year-old served as Andre Villas-Boas’ assistant at Olympique de Marseille.
ESCLUSIVA TJ – Carvalho su Di Maria: "Sarebbe un gran colpo, pronto per indossare la 10. Con Chiesa e Vlahović si troverebbe alla grande. Su de Ligt e la Champions…" https://t.co/rAPhIC6Hwo
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