Mourinho apologises to Pellegrini 16 years on before Real Madrid reunion

Jose Mourinho has showed some class by singing the praises of Manuel Pellegrini.

Mourinho will face his long-time rival on Friday night when Real Madrid head to Sevilla to take on Real Betis in LaLiga.

The pair have faced each other 17 times in total in both Spain and England, and they haven’t always had the nicest relationship.

In fact, Mourinho replaced Pellegrini at Madrid for his first stint with the club in 2010 and wasn’t too complimentary about his predecessor.

Mourinho makes amends for dig at Pellegrini

Most infamously, he said of the Chilean: “If Real Madrid throws me out, I won’t go to Malaga, I’ll go to a big club in England or Italy.”

Pellegrini went on to take Malaga to the Champions League semi-finals, a feat Mourinho couldn’t better with Real.

Mourinho reflected: “I don’t hold grudges because we can’t go back in time.

“There’s such a long history in football that some things we’ve said and done make us feel like idiots.

“I’ve made stupid comments. If he hears me, he’ll laugh because he’ll remember that I paid for it at Chelsea with the title [lost to Pellegrini’s Manchester City in 2013/14].”

Mourinho then had a further moment of praise for his rival.

Mourinho heaps praise on ‘gentleman’ Pellegrini

He added: “He treated me like a true gentleman in a friendly match between Betis and Roma, with a referee who loved Betis.

“We were down to seven men and he told his players not to pressure us. They could have scored eight goals, but they only scored three.

“He’s a great example as a coach and as a person. Betis is a very good team.”

Mourinho will also face another familiar name in the shape of Dani Ceballos who joined Betis after leaving Madrid as a free agent.

Discussing the departure, the Portuguese said: “We spoke for three minutes on the phone.

“I told him that I wasn’t counting on him and that players often cling to their contracts, but in this case things were easy because he told me he preferred to have the freedom to decide his future. In a few days, the player and the club reached that conclusion.”