PSG dealt Jose Mourinho blow as Roma CEO rules out summer exit

AS Roma CEO Pietro Berardi has ruled out a summer departure for in-demand manager Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho has a contract with Roma until 2024. However, several reports have linked the former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager with a move away from Rome at the end of the season.

He is not short on suitors, having already turned down proposals from the Portugal and Brazil national teams this season.

Roma are desperate to hold on to the 60-year-old beyond this summer despite reports of unrest between the manager and the club’s hierarchy.

The Giallorossi are currently third in Serie A, three points behind second-placed Inter Milan, and are serious contenders for a place in next season’s Champions League.

It will be their first appearance in the competition since the 2017/18 campaign.

“I think that next year also Mourinho will be coach of AS Roma,” Berardi said (via Foot Mercato). 

“With the coach, we are halfway through the one-and-a-half-year contract. He is very determined, he suffers for Roma and to achieve the result.”

Berardi’s remarks will be a massive blow to the clubs keen on signing Mourinho next summer.

The Italian tactician is reportedly still admired by Florentino Perez at Real Madrid, with Carlo Ancelotti’s long-term future uncertain.

Inter Milan have also been sounded as potential suitors, while Paris Saint-Germain have contacted Mourinho over a possible move with pressure continuing to mount on Christophe Galtier.

The French champions managed to snap their three-game losing streak with a dramatic 4-3 win over Lille last weekend thanks to a last-minute Lionel Messi free-kick.

However, having been knocked out of the Coupe de France by Olympique Marseille and suffering defeat in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie with Bayern Munich, Galtier’s long-term future has been called into question.

PSG have several candidates on their shortlist to turn to, with Mourinho now effectively ruled out. 

The club have lined up a shock move for former manager Thomas Tuchel who has been out of a job since September last year.

The Parisians also dream of appointing France legend Zinedine Zidane who has gone public with his desire to return to coaching.