Mourinho on Roma return: 'My bond with the club is unique, it will be strange to come as an opponent'

José Mourinho will return to the Olimpico as an opponent for the first time since his Roma departure, arriving on the bench of Real Madrid in a Champions League fixture within a week that will inevitably reignite memories of his connection to the club. In an interview with Ivan Zazzaroni for Corriere dello Sport, Mourinho reflected on his time in Rome and the affection of the supporters, while pinpointing the moment his relationship with the ownership definitively broke down. He spoke of the Conference League trophy Roma won during his tenure as a symbol of that era: "The other day a friend of mine, a procurer, sent me a photo of the Conference that is still at the entrance of the training ground." He also addressed the Europa League final lost to Seville, which he described as the peak of his connection with the fanbase. Mourinho stated: "They have been special with me. I always say: the day I arrived and I saw 1,000 people. I didn't understand why—I hadn't done anything yet. I didn't think I deserved it, but this is Rome and I understood that afterwards." He added: "Our relationship is special because they understood that I didn't care about my image or the relationships I could have with Italian football politics, with the press or with the ownership. I only cared about the good of Roma and the Roman fans. I fought for them, I gave everything." Regarding the Budapest final and its aftermath, Mourinho explained: "After the final, I go on holiday and when I return I am already dead for what the Uefa made me pay. What happened to Taylor at the airport is not my responsibility—what is my responsibility are the insults in the garage, and I should only pay for that." He described that moment as the breaking point with ownership: "And I paid for this in the relationship with Roma's ownership since they had a different approach. In that moment I was already out." On his departure itself, he said: "You know how much Roma's exit hurt me, but there is not a word from me against the club or the ownership. When I leave, I leave clean."

Roma's long legal dispute with former sporting director Gianluca Petrachi has come to an end after Italy's Court of Cassation made final a dismissal decision handed down by the club in July 2020. The case centred on a message Petrachi sent to then-president James Pallotta, whom he called "a small man", and further accusations that the court found contained "extremely grave insults" and allusions to alleged offences by the club's leadership. Head coach Gian Piero Gasperini is building Roma around a squad with the lowest average age among Serie A's top sides—alongside Como. Pisilli is now a regular in rotation, and behind him Gasperini can call on several Under-23 players: Mora, Lulli, Wesley, Ghilardi, Castro and Soulé. That youth-focused project will be tested when Roma travel to Como, with both clubs representing two of Serie A's youngest squads. After the international break, Roma face a decisive month: from the Como fixture through Roma-Sassuolo on 7 November, they will play nine matches in 28 days. Three of those are Champions League games against Real Madrid, Slovan Bratislava and Manchester United, alongside a Serie A clash with Napoli. Gasperini has already made no secret of his ambitions, and the stretch will serve as a true measure of how far the squad can go.

Roma's travelling support has sold out their allocation for the Champions League trip to Manchester United on 3 November at 21:00, the fixture for the fourth matchday of the league phase. The away tickets went in less than a full day, reflecting strong demand from the capital's supporters who have had limited opportunities to follow their team away from the Stadio Olimpico during difficult months. Roma supporters will have another chance to travel this weekend when the club visits Como on Sunday.