Mourinho's declaration that he will head back to England when his contract is up at Inter raised a couple of eyebrows yesterday. Is he sick of Italy already? Or does he simply love England more than Italy? Whatever the case, the fact is that he has made his intentions known publicly. For one, the Board of Directors at Inter Milan will not be too pleased with what he said yesterday, given that he still has a while to go before his time at Inter is up.



After a brilliant start to his tenure at Inter, it is perfectly normal think that his English intentions could now distract the 'Special One' and at the same time, the team's performance on the pitch. This could be a turning point for both Mourinho and Inter and it will be interesting to see how the teams play from now on.

The other debate that has been ignited by his declaration is where in England Mourinho would go. There is no doubt that he would be tempted to go back to Chelsea, the club which made him a managerial superstar. However, Roman Abramovich is still at the club, and one must not forget that it was their falling out that resulted in Mourinho ending his time at Chelsea. So for the moment, Chelsea is unlikely.

What is more probable, and his most likely destination is Manchester United. There's a feeling this season that Sir Alex Ferguson is really keen on retiring from football very, very soon. He has, however, announced his retirement intentions countless of times in the past only to re-consider and push on.

He was very close to pulling the pin 6 years ago, and has since then won 3 more domestic titles as well as Champions League title. Perhaps his time has come to leave the game. Maybe he should have left at the end of the last season after their unforgettable night in Moscow.

Whatever the reason, everything points to Ferguson's retirement and Mourinho's return occurring at the same time. What other club could possibly afford and satisfy Mourinho's ego and ambitions? Arsenal and Liverpool are the other possibilities.

In the case of Arsenal, Arsene Wenger is a god at Arsenal and like Ferguson, he will never get sacked and will be one to decide when he leaves the club. In the case of Liverpool, out of the big 4, it is the poorest club and I don't see it being able to match offers from other clubs for Mourinho's services.

Everything points to Manchester United. In 3 seasons time, Manchester United will be saying goodbye to a legendary manager and welcoming the Portuguese magician.