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Mancini's Agent Confirms Mourinho To Inter

Tuesday, 27 May 2008

Internazionale manager Roberto Mancini's agent Giorgio De Giorgis has confirmed that his client will be dismissed from his post and replaced by Jose Mourinho...

Mourinho has been linked with the Inter post over the past couple of months, since Roberto Mancini's outburst following his side's controversial elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Liverpool.

The coach quit, only to reverse his decision a day later. Seeds of doubt had been planted and despite continuous public backing from president Massimo Moratti since the incident - not to mention another Scudetto win - Mancini is now heading out at San Siro to be replaced by Mourinho, as Goal.com reported yesterday.

Disappointed

The official word comes from Giorgio De Giorgis - Mancini's agent - who has expressed Mancini's dismay at his dismissal, and confirmed that Mourinho will be replacing him as coach of the Italian champions.

"Roberto didn't expect it to finish like this but I always knew that something wasn't right," began the agent.

"However, it has happened and Roberto is very disappointed because he still had alot of work which has not been finished. He could have tried to win other important trophies, like the Champions League.

"Now Mourinho will arrive and he will have the task of trying to repeat what Mancini has done over the last few years."

Mistake

De Giorgis admitted that pressure has played a large part in Inter's underwhelming second half of the season and that despite the narrow title win, the theatrics after the Liverpool defeat did little to help Mancio's case.

"Looking at Inter's form since January, I believe the pressure from above began to take its toll," he explained. "And then after Liverpool's exit there was an outburst, maybe Roberto could have avoided this."

"I think he made a mistake then, he shouldn't have told anyone he was leaving."

€27 million contract

Massimo Moratti is said to be wasting no time in ushering in the new era, with Mourinho in Milan this evening accompanied by Inter technical secretary Marco Branca.

As soon as Mancini's departure is officially processed, the former Porto and Chelsea boss will sign on with Inter on a three-year contract, earning a staggering €9 million per year.

Mourinho, the self-proclaimed Special One, has been out of work since his controversial dismissal from Chelsea in October, and though he expressed an initial willingness to live the quiet life and relax, he has become more and more vocal in the media as months have gone on, sensing that the time is right for a return.

During his time off, he has been linked with every major club in Europe bar Manchester United, Arsenal and of course Chelsea. The links have always been strongest with Inter, city rivals Milan and Barcelona. Mourinho is said to have turned down a "major club" at this time last season - thought to be Real Madrid - and with Barcelona and Milan choosing to keep affairs very much in the family, it is Inter who have stuck their neck out and sacked a league-winning manager after a disappointing end to the season.

With the Inter move having been confirmed by Mancini's agent, now all that is left for the club to make an official announcement. Whether or not the likes of Deco, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Ricardo Carvalho will follow their beloved ex-boss to Milan as much of the press has speculated remains to be seen. It promises to be an extremely interesting summer for the Nerazzurri...

Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com