José Mourinho

The Religion and Political Views of José Mourinho

Summary

Religion

Mourinho is a devout Catholic.

Political Views

Mourinho is very quiet about his political views, though some evidence points to him being conservative.

Wiki

José Mourinho was born in Setúbal, Portugal and grew up there and in nearby Palmela, Portugal.

Mourinho is a devout Catholic. He was raised as such (as is customary for Portuguese) and he credits his success in football to God and his faith:

I pray a lot. I am Catholic, I believe in God. I try to be a good man so He can have a bit of time to give me a hand when I need it.[1]

Mourinho is often the subject of controversy and (possibly false) media attention. It was once reported that upon his taking the managing position at Real Madrid, he sought the advice and blessing of some Kenyan witch doctors, to which his representatives replied:

José Mourinho is profoundly Catholic and he believes in God. In matters that concern his professional life, he believes in hard work and not in the miracles of any old sorcerer.[2]

However, some might disagree that all Mourinho believes in is hard work. He is widely cited as being very controlling of the players on his team[3] and asks that they reflect his worldview.[4] When they don't, (Muslims for example) Mourinho complains. Of one of his Muslim players, Sully Muntari, fasting during the month of Ramadan, Mourinho said:

Muntari had some problems related to Ramadan, perhaps with this heat it's not good for him to be doing this [fasting]. Ramadan has not arrived at the ideal moment for a player to play a football match.[5]

Naturally, this was met with some animosity from the Muslim community.[6] What we might have here is a bit of a xenophobic Catholic.

Everybody's guessing

Mourinho is notoriously guarded about his political views.[7] However, one Portuguese reporter, a Joel Neto, dug deep into Mourinho's life in an attempt to truly understand the man and emerged speculating that his views are "strongly right wing."[8] In European terms, this means socially conservative and possibly skeptical of the European Union.

There is some evidence to corroborate that. His wife is said to come from a very conservative family[9] and the BBC reported that his political views are opposite to one of his football rivals, Sir Alex Ferguson,[10] who is known to be a British Labour supporter and antagonist to Britain's conservative Prime Minister David Cameron.[11]

Plus, such a devout Catholic might lean right on social issues. It's not too far-fetched.

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