Jose Mourinho returns to Chelsea on Tuesday but this time as Benfica’s manager as the Portuguese club face off against London team in the UEFA Champions League.
Chelsea’s greatest manager, Jose Mourinho, is set for an emotional return to Stamford Bridge when Benfica take on the London Club in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. Mourinho won three Premier League titles with Chelsea in two different tenures and remains a highly popular figure at the club.
Chelsea are now coached by Italian manager Enzo Maresca and lost their UCL opener 3-1 to Bayern Munich in Germany earlier this month. While the club would be looking to secure a victory against Benfica, Chelsea fans are sure to give a grand welcome to Mourinho, who also won one FA Cup and three League Cup trophies with the Blues.
Mourinho: ‘I will always be a blue’
Ahead of the match, Mourinho turned emotional in the press conference as he declared he would always remain a “blue.”
“Of course I will always be a blue,” he said. “I’m part of their history and they are part of mine. I helped them become a bigger Chelsea and they helped me become a bigger Jose.
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“When I say I’m not a blue, I hope everyone understands I’m speaking about the job that I have to do tomorrow.”
“I will always be a Blue” 💙
Wholesome from Jose Mourinho on his bond with Chelsea 🤝 pic.twitter.com/GHgjtfXTxz
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 29, 2025
Mourinho was speaking in a media room that had three portraits of the manager. This was duly acknowledged by Mourinho as the 62-year-old praised Chelsea for the gesture.
“There are not many clubs that do this because in many clubs there is a fear of what happened in the past,” he said. “Sometimes it looks like they want to delete people who made history in the clubs. This shows that Chelsea is really a big club because big clubs are also about principles.”
Maresca also heaped praise on Mourinho, calling him a legend.
“For me, personally, Mourinho is a legend for this club. And in Italy he’s a legend for Inter Milan where he won the Champions League,” Chelsea’s Italian coach Enzo Maresca told reporters on Monday.
“I think he has already shown how important a manager he has been and is.”
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