Ricardo Formosinho was one of the assistant coaches who followed José Mourinho to Tottenham Hotspur in November 2019.
The official stayed at the club until August, the end of the season, when he decided to look for a job as a manager again.
Formosinho was interviewed by Portuguese newspaper Record at the weekend, and gave an explanation on his departure from the Premier League side and Mourinho’s staff.
“In order to avoid speculation about this, I say that if was 20 years younger, I’d have stayed, in order to equip myself with more arguments to face the future,” Formosinho told Record.
“In that sense, thanks to José for the opportunity, the understanding and even for the encouragement. Our friendship remains untouched and nothing will pinch it.”
Formosinho was asked if he left over a financial matter, and admits that money weighed on his decision as well.
“It’s a question of stability for my life. My decision was based on the desire to take on a project and test myself in another context. The financial issue also contributed – as much as it costs me, I’m not moving towards something new.”
“I’ve set clear personal goals and I intend to achieve them in the near future. So I made the difficult decision to leave Tottenham and José Mourinho.
“I received invitations from Asia, the Middle East and even Europe. In general I didn’t like them, which is why I remain inactive. After making the decision to leave behind a stable and favourable professional environment, I believe that I have the right and the duty to choose not a simple proposal but a project with stability, to apply my knowledge, greatly increased and improved after these years of direct contact with José Mourinho. I believe that there will be news soon.”
Formosinho made a little evaluation of Tottenham’s season so far. The interview was given before the 2-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday, and he had a lot of compliments for the team.
“People must be happy. They have to be. The team has shown superior quality and José has raised the bar for excellence at all levels. An incredible team spirit is felt, which is expressed in the confidence of the players and in the results.
“At this distance I’m able to bet that he’ll win a title in 2020/21. I don’t know what it will be, the chances are many, but something will be. This is usually the consequence of teams that have quality and play with joy and confidence. Tottenham play the best football in England today.”
Asked if, at Spurs, Mourinho can return to winning titles, he said: “I believe so. If he succeeds, he’ll magnify the legend he became in the world, but especially in England. And he’ll achieve a feat at the level of others in his career: he’ll enter the history of the club he represents.”
In the same interview, Formosinho also spoke about their time at Manchester United, claiming they should’ve won the 2017/18 Premier League and blaming specific players for problems in the squad.
