Brazil are reportedly preparing to hold talks with Jose Mourinho and kick off an international tug-of-war.
The Roma boss, 59, last week emerged as home nation Portugal's No.1 target to replace outgoing manager Fernando Santos. Having never worked outside of club football before, it was recently reported that the job was Mourinho's should he want it.
However, the 'Special One' could be able to pick another high-profile vacancy, with Brazil bidding to find a successor to Tite, who - like Santos - left his role in the wake of a disappointing World Cup campaign. Mourinho is said to have flown back home to Portugal to celebrate Christmas with his family and the South American giants are plotting to take advantage of him being away from his duties in Rome.
Italian outlet La Repubblica claim that on Friday, an intermediary of Brazil's national team will jet in from Sao Paulo and begin negotiations face to face. The five-time World Cup winners, who this year fell to Croatia at the quarter-final stage, had hoped that Pep Guardiola would take over from Tite, but his new two-year deal at Manchester City put an end to their ambitions.
It's added that Ednaldo Rodrigues, president of the Brazilian football federation, will be in charge of the talks and wants super-agent Jorge Mendes to aid their search for a new boss. Rodrigues is believed to be on excellent terms with Mendes, who notably represents Mourinho, and is keen for the appointment process to be wrapped up by the end of January.
Portugal are also keen to hold talks, with separate claims suggesting that they'd be willing to wait until the end of Roma's season to make a move. La Republicca's report goes on to lay out that Mourinho isn't entirely content with life in the Italian capital, having endured a series of bumps in the road since becoming manager in June 2021.
The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur gaffer looks to be unhappy with several players' attitudes and Roma's financial situation, which limits their transfer business. Mourinho is already halfway through his three-year contract at Stadio Olimpico and is renowned for switching jobs within a similar timeframe, whether he's forced out or not.
Despite Roma sitting seventh in Serie A, having gone into the World Cup break with no wins from their last three games, director Tiago Pinto hailed Mourinho's work in an exclusive interview with Mirror Football . "It was a big achievement for the club to convince Mourinho to accept Roma's offer," Pinto began.
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"Again, we worked hard – the ownership and myself - trying to persuade him that this was the right project for him. Besides the results, the [Europa] Conference League we won, the progress made by the players, it is a great pride for us to see that he is a Romanista today."
The Giallorossi chief continued on Mourinho: "He fully embraced the values of the club and the city and he is the best ambassador of AS Roma in the world today. When a coach reaches that level of empathy with the city and the fans, it means you did a good job."
