Mourinho insists Abramovich 'was never his friend' ahead of Chelsea return

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has said that although he has the utmost respect for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, the duo were never friends during his two stints as manager at Stamford Bridge.

"No, but we always had that kind of relationship. He was the owner and I respected him like that. I was the coach and I was respected like that. We were never close friends," Mourinho, who led Chelsea to three Premier League titles, was quoted as saying by goal.com.

"We never shared anything personal. We were not friends, maybe because I was respectful for the position of the owner. Maybe because I showed him respect I didn't have problems but we were not close," he added.

Mourinho's comments came on the eve of his side's Premier League clash against Chelsea, his first return to Stamford Bridge after being sacked by Russian billionaire Abramovich in December 2015.

It was for the second time that Mourinho had left Chelsea. The Portuguese manager was earlier sacked in 2017 with reports suggesting that it was the result of a falling out with the club's billionaire owner.