Former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has sent his support to club legend Iker Casillas after the goalkeeper suffered a heart attack at training with Porto this week.
Mourinho worked with Casillas at the Spanish giants in 2010-13, during which time the pair had what was often described in the media as a fraught relationship, not least when the Portuguese manager dropped Casillas.
Mourinho moved on from Real in 2013, while Casillas left for Porto in 2015.
It was during training with the Portuguese club on Wednesday morning that the Spanish World Cup winner, 37, suffered a heart attack and was rushed to hospital, where he is thankfully now recovering.
Speaking to RT on his show ‘On the Touchline with Jose Mourinho’, the Portuguese managerial great admitted that the pair had endured strained ties at Real, but that their relationship was still a “positive” one as he offered support to the player.
“Everybody knows that in a certain moment, when I decided to take him out of the team, there was a little bit of a confrontation of, I don’t say egos, but a confrontation of Real Madrid captain and Real Madrid manager,” Mourinho said.
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“It was not easy for me to make that decision, and it was not easy for him to accept that decision.
“But we have a positive relation, it’s not like people think.”
He also revealed he had immediately contacted Porto – a club he famously managed to the Champions League title in 2004 – to pass on his support to Casillas.
“I feel very sorry for that [the heart attack]. I was immediately in contact with Porto to get into him, and the Porto medical department is fantastic, one of the best I have worked with.
“He’s in great hands, and the Portuguese press is now full of positive information, even speaking about Iker possibly playing football again.
“So when you are 37 years old, in the last part of your career, and you are still thinking you will play football, it’s because the situation is completely under control,” Mourinho added.