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FOOTBALL

Mourinho hints at exit: ‘In England I am loved’

José Mourinho has hinted that he could be set for a return to England after seeing his Real Madrid side go out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage for the third consecutive season.

Mourinho hints at exit: 'In England I am loved'
Photo: Javier Soriano/AFP

Real very nearly staged a remarkable late comeback to progress to the final after goals from Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos gave them a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund on the night, but the Germans' 4-1 victory in last week's first-leg saw them squeeze through 4-3 on aggregate.

And afterwards Mourinho refused to confirm that he will still be in charge of the Spanish champions next season.

"My future is not important, it is Real Madrid that are important," he said.

"I know that in England I am loved. I am loved by the fans and the media who are fair with me. They criticize me and give me credit when I deserve it.

"I know I am loved by the clubs, especially one. In Spain it is different because people hate me, many of whom are in this room, and it is difficult because I love the club and the president and we have made this team which is ready to achieve big things."

After a frantic opening 15 minutes by Madrid, in which they had three clear chances to score, Dortmund seemed to have drawn the sting from their opponents until the hosts' late onslaught, and Mourinho lamented not having scored during their early period of dominance.

"We started very strongly, with intensity, we pressured them and the circulation of the ball was excellent.

"The earlier you score a goal the better chance you have to come back. We missed important chances and that meant in the second half we had to risk everything.

"We were playing against a quicker team and had to adopt our way of playing which left a lot of space in behind. They had two great chances when (Robert) Lewandowski hit the bar and Diego (Lopez) made a great save but once we scored the people believed a little more.

"I'm proud of the way we kept going till the end."

However, Mourinho was less happy with the performance of English referee Howard Webb, who the Portuguese believes made a mistake in not sending off Mats Hummels for a deliberate handball in the second half.

"He was a man not a referee in this minute and he has to be a referee. He has to send off Hummels, it is not a penalty because it is outside the box but it is a sending off because Karim (Benzema) is clear through on goal."

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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