Jose Mourinho Confirms His Return as Chelsea Manager

Jose Mourinho has confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in football. He will return to Chelsea as manager before the end of the week.

The 50-year-old, who took charge of Real Madrid for the last time on Saturday, told Spanish football show Punto Pelota (via Sky Sports) that he will be installed as Stamford Bridge boss by the end of the week.

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I'm going to London on Monday and at the end of the week I will be the manager of Chelsea. I feel the people there love me and in life you have to look for that.

Life is beautiful and short and you must look for what you think is best for you.

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The news will be greeted with delight by Chelsea supporters, who were left devastated when the Portuguese coach left the club in 2007 after a fallout with owner Roman Abramovich, as BBC Sport reported.

However, the rift appears to have been healed, and the Russian oligarch has turned again to the man who brought unprecedented success to the West London club during his three-year tenure.

The club also announced the renewed partnership on their official website. Chief executive Ron Gourlay said the following:

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It is our aim to keep the club moving forward to achieve greater success in the future and Jose is our number one choice as we believe he is the right manager to do just that.

He was and remains a hugely popular figure at the club and everyone here looks forward to working with him again.

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Mourinho won the 2005 and 2006 Premier League titles, the 2007 FA Cup and two League Cups during his last spell with the club.

Since leaving Chelsea, Mourinho has lifted the Champions League and two Serie A titles with Inter Milan. He also broke Barcelona's dominance of La Liga in 2012 with his title win for Real.

Mourinho will now replace Rafael Benitez, who has been appointed Napoli manager after guiding Chelsea to the Europa League triumph and Champions League qualification. He took over for the interim after Chelsea sacked Roberto Di Matteo following a disappointing Champions League showing.

The bond between Chelsea fans and Mourinho remains as strong as it always was, with his name chanted regularly during matches involving the Blues.

Now Mourinho will reignite his love affair with the club and the fans.