Jose Mourinho sends pointed Chelsea message ahead of Stamford Bridge return

Jose Mourinho, the former Chelsea manager, has declared that he will always be the club's 'Special One' until another manager surpasses his record of three Premier League titles. Mourinho, who is now at the helm of Benfica, is preparing for an emotional return to Stamford Bridge, where he enjoyed two successful stints.

Despite being booed by Chelsea fans during his 2017 return with Manchester United, a moment he responded to by declaring 'Judas is No 1', Mourinho now looks back on it with humour. He maintains that Chelsea will always hold a special place in his heart and asserts that he remains their most successful manager.

Mourinho, who famously dubbed himself 'The Special One' upon his arrival in English football, said: "Chelsea is a winning machine that had in the past two or years a moment without trophies, but Chelsea won something before my time and then we start winning and then my team kept winning.

"Then a transformation of new teams, new coaches, more trophies, European trophies, the biggest one and the Champions League. So Chelsea is a winning machine. I'm the biggest one until someone wins four."

In a surprising turn, Mourinho also commended the work of Enzo Maresca. He believes that after their Club World Cup victory, they have a strong chance of clinching the Champions League title this season.

The Portuguese boss added: "That gold badge means a lot. It's the first time a club has won the new Club World Cup. Congratulations to them.

"The Champions League is much more difficult to win than the Club World Cup, of course it is. Chelsea has the potential to do it, I don't see any reason to say no, Chelsea can't do it."

Chelsea are currently under investigation by the FA and Premier League for 74 charges related to rule breaches on third party issues and strict agent rules during the period Mourinho was in charge.

While there's no implication that Mourinho was involved in any wrongdoing, he has previously been vocal about Manchester City and their charges which could result in a points deduction and record fine.

When questioned about the charges against Chelsea, Mourinho responded: "Not Man City? I have no idea about it. I have no idea what the charges are. I will try to understand them."

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