Jose Mourinho posted a rather bizarre message to the Roma fans following their 2-1 defeat at Napoli on Sunday amid speculation over a shock return to Chelsea.
Goals from Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Simeone earned high-flying Napoli all three points at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, with Stephan El Shaarawy netting for Roma. It was a result that kept Napoli top of the table, leaving Mourinho's men in sixth, still one point off the Champions League places.
Following the full-time whistle, Mourinho decided to post a team photo on his Instagram account, while then praising his side in the caption. It is unusual for a manager to do this after a defeat, but Mourinho's comments suggest how proud he is of his players, having spent no money in the January transfer window so far.
It read: "What a TEAM what a SPIRIT what a PERFORMANCE. Let’s go… See you on Wednesday at the Olimpico."
Mourinho, who has grown frustrated at the lack of finances available to him at Roma, also spoke glowingly of his side in his post-match press conference. The Portuguese added that his team deserved something from the game but also claimed that it's Napoli's side as the home side moved 13 points clear at the summit.
"We played really good football from the first minute. There was a period 10-15 minutes after Osimhen’s goal when we felt the injustice of going 1-0 down. Aside from that, the team was always in control, pressed high, recovered the ball, defended well," Mourinho told DAZN.
"If there are games where you can lose and emerge feeling more confident than before, it might seem a contradiction, but this was one of those games.
"We are certainly the side that made Napoli suffer the most and made the stadium feel empty in an extraordinary atmosphere, as we scared them.
"I leave here more confident. Seeing our three substitutes at the end were three kids who last season were playing on the plastic pitch, it makes me so proud and happy. Sometimes football is unjust, sometimes the team that deserves it the most loses.
"At times we won without deserving, but today I think we deserved to win the game. I am sad about the result, you cannot smile too much when you lose, but with full hearts we move on."
This comes after it has been reported that the Portuguese is eyeing a third spell at Stamford Bridge, after winning three Premier League titles across his two previous spells at the Blues. The Portuguese's representatives have let it known that he would be interested in any vacancy at Stamford Bridge, although it is understood the club are willing to stick by Graham Potter.
But even if the Chelsea job doesn't become available, Mourinho is keen to move back to England in the near future. Mourinho's wife and children still live in London and he has always preferred working in the Premier League to elsewhere.
