Jose Mourinho Reveals Reason Behind Trip To Croatia

Jose Mourinho's recent trip to Croatia during international week raised a few eyebrows and gained a few inches in the transfer gossip columns, yesterday, with the Manchester United boss pictured meeting former Real Madrid favourite Pedrag Mijatovic in the Croatian capital.

It was Mijatovic who helped broker the deal for Mourinho to sign Luka Modric for Real in 2012, taking the Croatian midfielder to the Bernabeu from Tottenham Hotspur and, with the pair being spotted together again, it was believed that transfer business was at the top of their agenda, once again.

Mijatovic worked with Mourinho during the Portuguese manager's time in the Spanish capital, as Real's Sporting Director and it was widely reported that the United boss' top order of business was to secure a deal for Croatian striker Ivan Perisic while in Zagreb.

However, despite Index Sport in Croatia picturing the pair together and reporting that a £35m deal for the Internazionale forward was set to be secured, Mourinho has rubbished these reports, in an interview today.

Speaking to HNTV, the former Chelsea boss said, "I have no hidden cause, I just came to enjoy my free days and visit some friends like Predrag Mijatovic and Davor Suker.

"I know everyone believes I came to watch some players, but in football today you don't have to travel around in order to see some players, I know all of them well.

Perisic

Mourinho has distanced himself from a deal for Inter striker Ivan Perisic. Image: PA

"I came as a person that wants to relax and enjoy the nice weather, unlike the rainy weather in Manchester."

Come on, Jose, it's been cracking the flags in Manchester the past two days. You could have set up a deck chair in the car park of the Lowry Hotel with a crate of tinnies and a cool box full of Calippos, mint choc Cornettos and those weird Solero Shots that all used to stick together and never properly come out of the container. It would have pissed all over a few days in the Istrian sunshine. Probably.

(H/T Goal)

Topics: Jose Mourinho, Ivan Perisic, Internazionale, Football, Manchester United, Croatia

Joe Baiamonte

Northerner. Assistant Editor of SPORTbible. Studied Journalism and Broadcasting in a portakabin on a car park of Salford University for three years. Believes football peaked with Serie A in the '90s and strong-arms pro wrestling references into as many articles as possible. Neymar once took 50 euros off me during a game of poker.

@JoeBaia