Jose Mourinho will be back in management next season after landing a three-year deal at Roma just 15 days after being sacked by Tottenham.
The Portuguese will take the helm at Roma for the 2021-22 campaign after the Serie A club announced the 58-year-old as Paulo Fonseca's replacement.
It will be the next chapter in a career that has yielded major silverware across Europe, but one that has taken a notable downturn after a trophy-less spell at Spurs.
The cracks had already started to show for Mourinho prior to his Spurs exit on April 19, which came following a series of comments from the former Inter boss that hinted at significant unrest at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Here is a selection of the quotes which capture the Special One's descent into ignominy, a fate Mourinho will be desperate to avoid in the Eternal City as he seeks to recapture his glory days.
SAME COACH, DIFFERENT PLAYERS
After Spurs stayed painfully true to form and surrendered a 2-1 lead to draw 2-2 with lowly Newcastle United, Mourinho promptly laid the blame at the feet of his players.
When it was put to him that his teams are normally good at holding onto leads, he said: "Same coach, different players."
YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO FEED YOUR KIDS
In one of the more bizarre post-match media conferences, Mourinho started ranting about the importance of feeding your kids.
It was after Spurs had lost 3-1 to Manchester United, with Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer criticising Son Heung-min for what he considered a bit of play acting.
The Norwegian said if his child had behaved like that, he would have deprived them of their food. It was, evidently, a joke.
Mourinho addressed this, entirely unprompted, but for him it was no laughing matter.
"It is very, very sad," he said. "I think it's really sad that you don't ask me about it. It's really sad that you don't have the moral honesty to treat me the same way you treat others.
"I just want to say, Sonny is very lucky that his father is a better person than Ole, because I think a father – I am a father – you have always to feed your kids, it doesn't matter what they do.
"If you have to steal to feed your kids, you steal. I am very, very disappointed, and like we say in Portugal bread is bread and cheese is cheese, I told Ole already what I think about his comments."
IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE, OR IS IT?
Modesty appears to be an alien concept to Mourinho, who had no hesitation in comparing himself to NASA scientists.
Addressing the seemingly justified criticism he was receiving in light of Spurs' underwhelming campaign, the Portuguese went on the defensive.
"I don't think anybody is going to discuss rocket science with the guys from NASA, with everybody around the world," he said.
"They think they can discuss football with one of the most important managers in the game. That's the beauty of football.
"I got used to it, I appreciate that, so that's fine for me."
MOURINISTAS LOVE ME
The criticism never seemed to leave Mourinho too disheartened, such is the strength of his conviction that he has an army of loyal followers.
He calls them 'Mourinistas', and they are the source of his strength.
He said: "Honestly, I get my strength from myself but mainly from the people that I love and the people who I know they love me, even if many of them I don't know them, I haven't met them.
"I used to call them the 'Mourinistas', because in Portugal we use 'ista' in the end of the name of the club that we love, to express the support."
BALE SAGA
Gareth Bale's signing on loan from Real Madrid gave Spurs fans hope of a genuine title challenge, but that too proved a false dawn.
There were many hints that all was not well with Bale's second coming at Spurs, with Mourinho left fuming by an Instagram post in which the Wales star had suggested he had been involved in full training, despite the head coach insisting he was not fit.
"There was a contradiction between the post and the reality," said Mourinho.
SORROW SHOWS AFTER DINAMO BLOW
It wasn't all strength and defiance, though, as was evident after the shock Europa League exit to Dinamo Zagreb.
"To say I feel sad is not enough," he lamented. "What I feel is much more than sadness."
INDIVIDUAL MISTAKES
Going back to January, the willingness to turn on his own players was clear for all to see.
After a 1-1 draw with struggling Fulham, Mourinho saw "individual mistakes", though he did not confess that any were his own.
"There are things that are individual, that are down to individual qualities and individual mistakes," he said. "Basically I cannot say much more than that."
DIER DISAGREEMENT
After Eric Dier sat out Spurs' 2-0 win over West Brom in February, Mourinho said the England international was suffering a crisis of confidence.
However, in an open show of dissent, Dier insisted: "Confidence-wise, I don't feel like I've been in a bad place all season."
Icing on the cake – Al Nassr celebrate Ronaldo's record-setting Portugal cap
Al Nassr celebrated Cristiano Ronaldo's record-breaking Portugal appearance in style.
Given his impeccable commitment to athleticism, Ronaldo might not have dug into the cake he was presented with on Friday.
Al Nassr were celebrating the 38-year-old becoming the most-capped men's player of all time.
Ronaldo made his 197th appearance for Portugal on March 23, scoring twice in a 4-0 defeat of Liechtenstein.
Along with marking that achievement, Al Nassr also celebrated Abdulrahman Ghareeb's 25th birthday.
"Today, we celebrate a record and birthday," the club tweeted. "The record of most capped player in international football [and] the birthday of a talented Saudi player."
Stellini insists Spurs not in crisis despite Conte exit
Cristian Stellini insists Tottenham are "not in crisis" despite Antonio Conte's acrimonious exit from the club.
Conte left Spurs by mutual consent last Sunday, a week on from a remarkable outburst after a 3-3 draw with bottom side Southampton in which his side squandered a two-goal lead late on.
The former Chelsea boss labelled his players "selfish" and questioned the club's lack of silverware during Daniel Levy's time as chairman in a tirade that ultimately cost him his job, with assistant Stellini taking charge until the end of the season.
Conte becomes the third Spurs manager to be relieved of their duties since Mauricio Pochettino, who led Spurs to the Champions League final, was sacked in 2019, while the club's wait for a first trophy since 2008 has extended to 15 years.
Managing director Fabio Paratici has also stepped back from his role while the club awaits the outcome of his appeal against a worldwide ban from football following FIFA's decision to extend his initial 30-month ban from just Italian football to a worldwide basis for financial breaches while at Juventus.
Yet Stellini, who is now tasked with overseeing the final 10 games of the season as Spurs bid to achieve Champions League qualification, does not agree the club is in turmoil, despite the Tottenham Supporters' Trust describing it as "one mess after another."
"When you take decisions for the best you are not in crisis," Stellini told reporters.
"If you have some matters, we have to stay compact and we have to stick together to move on and play the matches."
It was an easy decision for Stellini to assume Conte's position until the end of the campaign, with the 48-year-old saying: "I spoke with Antonio. The club and Antonio spoke to each other. They take the decision together and they let me know, I was aware of it.
"They call me and say the decision is taken and if you agree with us, you can do it. I had no problem to say yes."
Tottenham managing director Paratici steps back from role
Tottenham managing director Fabio Paratici has stepped back from his role while the club awaits the outcome of his appeal against a worldwide ban from football.
FIFA announced on Wednesday that the 30-month suspension handed to Paratici by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in January would extend beyond Italian football.
Spurs were caught cold by the timing of the announcement and said in a statement they were "urgently seeking further clarification from FIFA" regarding Paratici's situation.
The 50-year-old's appeal will be held on April 19, but it was confirmed by Tottenham on Friday that he will step back from his duties until then.
"In view of FIFA's decision, Fabio has agreed with the club that he will take an immediate leave of absence pending the outcome of his appeal," a Spurs statement read.
Paratici was one of 11 individuals banned by the FIGC in January after Juventus were found guilty of alleged breaches in relation to historical transfer dealings.
Juve were docked 15 points in Serie A as part of the punishment, with Paratici and the club denying any wrongdoing and lodging an appeal to the Italian Olympic Committee.
Then-chairman Andrea Agnelli and former director Pavel Nedved were hit with 24 and eight month bans respectively, which they are also appealing in April.
Paratici's leave of absence comes at a time when the club are on the lookout for a new head coach following the sacking of Antonio Conte last week.
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