Inter coach Jose Mourinho has taken a swipe at his former employers Chelsea, claiming that the road has only been downhill for the west London club since he headed out of Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have won only an FA Cup since the 'Special One' left England. Now plying his trade with the Serie A giants, the Portuguese manager maintains that his former employers have sorely missed his presence.
"Chelsea have suffered in the last two years, and it's no coincidence that their decline happened after I left," Mourinho said, according to The Mirror.
"We had a unique relationship as a manager, players and fans, and when you break that, it's not easy to fix. They've had a lot of coaches since and maybe some didn't have the mentality for the club. Maybe they tried to change too much of what we put in place.
"I knew there was no time for a long-term plan with the owner they have at Stamford Bridge. You must win the title in your first season or say bye-bye. I gave them what they needed but I always knew it wasn't a job that would last forever. Maybe they would've been better off sticking with me than changing manager when they did."
Of the three managers before Carlo Ancelotti to take the reins of the club following the departure of the former Porto boss, only Guus Hiddink managed to guide the club to silverware in the form of an FA Cup triumph last season.
Mourinho also told Nuts magazine: "Inter have asked me to try to win the Champions League for them, and I'll attempt to give them this – so they're stuck with me for a little while yet! Now we have to play an important couple of matches against Chelsea and this is obviously a very special game for me."
And concerning the Blues' Italian manager - with whom he shared a frosty relationship during Carletto's Serie A days - Mourinho couldn't resist adding: "But I'm a part of Chelsea's history forever and they'll always be a big part of me. Let's see if Ancelotti can finish his time at Chelsea with a record as good as mine!"
Inter host Chelsea at the San Siro on Wednesday, 24 February, in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.
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