José Mourinho recently brought an end to his three-year stay at Real Madrid by departing for his former club Chelsea. Even though there have been several reports that he did not get along well with the players at the club, several stars including such as Sergio Ramos have been paying tribute for the Portuguese. German internationals Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil are the latest to pay tribute to the 50-year-old by saying that it was a privilege to work with him. Mourinho was responsible for bringing the two players to the Santiago Bernabeu after the end of the 2010 World Cup.
They have managed to establish themselves as important players in the Real Madrid squad. Both players have gone on to social networking site Facebook to express their gratitude for the former manager. During his time at Real Madrid, Mourinho managed to win the league title once. He also lifted the Copa del Rey as well, but many see him as a failed experiment by president Florentino Perez since he failed to win the Champions League. It has been more than a decade Real last lifted this famous trophy, which they have done nine times in the illustrious history.
Ozil has stated that he always thought that Mourinho was a great manager and the reputation has been strengthened even more after working with him.
“Dear Jose Mourinho. Three years ago you took me to Real. In those three years you have taught me a lot and given me a lot of confidence. For this, I would like to thank you and wish you all the best in the future,” said Ozil. “I want to thank him for the opportunity he gave me at Real. I want to thank him for the support he was given me. He has always had my back, especially when I was attracting criticism from the press,” said Khedira.