Jose Mourinho has left Real Madrid for Chelsea to escape Spanish media pressure, according to football journalist Tim Stannard.
The Spain-based reporter believes Mourinho has left the Spanish giants because he did not enjoy the intense scrutiny which accompanies the hot-seat at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Mourinho will now begin his second spell in charge of Chelsea, where he won successive English Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, before leaving just two months into the 2007/08 campaign, reportedly following a falling out with billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
There s a lot less media pressure in England and I think Mourinho underestimated how much there is in Spain, Stannard said.
There are TV stations, 24-hour sports networks looking at every single decision he makes, every game, every minute of the day.
Despite the attention he faced, Stannard believes Mourinho has left Real Madrid a much better side than when he took over in 2010.
Three Champions League semi-finals in a row, a Copa Del Rey win and a league title win, and they re a much stronger side, he said.
Mourinho faces a new challenge in his second stint at Chelsea, who finished third in the 2012/13 Premier League season.
The first time he was at Chelsea he was taking a club who are not doing brilliantly, not really at the top level, and really moving them up a gear, Stannard said.
He did that with Inter Milan, and he did that with Real Madrid, and it s going to be interesting to see how he deals with a Chelsea that s not too bad.
While he enjoyed strong relationships with some Real Madrid players, Stannard expects long-term contracts may stop them from following him to England.
