Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed the “only thing” that interests him ahead of a potential return to the managerial dugout.

Jose Mourinho’s spell with Roma came to an end in January after a difficult third season in charge at the Serie A club.

Roma were ninth in the Serie A table at the time of Mourinho’s sacking and the Italian club had been knocked out of the Coppa Italia by city rivals Lazio.

Mourinho enjoyed success during his spell at the Stadio Olimpico, including leading Roma to the Europa Conference League trophy in his debut season.

Despite his setback at Roma, the former Manchester United head coach has ruled out immediate retirement and flirted with the idea of returning to management.

Mourinho had attracted a lucrative offer from the Saudi Pro League after his dismissal from Roma, but the ‘Special One’ turned down a move to Saudi Arabia.

The 61-year-old has appeared in Saudi Arabia since his time out of management, including attending the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou fight in March.

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Mourinho breaks silence on management return

Jose Mourinho’s decorated career has seen him manage all across Europe, including in Portugal, England, Spain and Italy.

The legendary Portuguese manager enjoyed success during his time at Old Trafford and led Manchester United to a League Cup and a Europa League title.

Mourinho, who was sacked from United in 2018, is already eyeing up his next opportunity in football and has outlined his biggest demand from a would-be club.

The former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss said that the “only thing” that interests him is that targets and objectives are set in a “fair way.”

Mourinho admitted that he is motivated more by a club setting out objectives so that he can say that he is “ready to fight” for them.

“The only thing I want is that the targets and the objectives have to be established by everyone in a fair way,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

“I cannot go to a club where, because of my history, the objective is to win the title.

“No. The only thing I want is that it has to be fair. Do you think if I was at a big Premier League club and we were sixth, seventh, eighth, in the table, I still have a job?

“What I am saying is people [should] look at me the way they look at others. What is important for me is if the club has objectives and for me to be able to say I am ready to fight for these. I don’t want to say realistic, but [at least] semi-realistic.

“Because when I went to Roma nobody was dreaming about European Cup finals and we did it. It’s not possible I go to a club almost relegated and the objective is to win the Champions League. It’s good but it is not fair.”

Ex-Man Utd boss Mourinho on potential retirement idea

Mourinho turned 61 back in January and the former Inter Milan and Roma head coach addressed the potential idea of retiring from football.

Despite a longstanding career in football – including an impressive silverware haul – the Special One insisted that he has no timeline in place for retirement.

“It is not like I am 61 and I want to stop at 65. No way at all,” he added.

“There is still a long career to go.”