It may have been 22 years since Celtic lost the UEFA Cup final to Porto in the baking Seville heat.
But Martin O'Neill still holds a grudge against the Portuguese side and Jose Mourinho over his team's antics during the showpiece event.
The Special One guided Porto to the major honour back in the early 2000s before eventually getting his big break at Chelsea.
He returned to west London to face his former club last night, having recently been appointed as Benfica head coach.
Martin O'Neill still holding a grudge against Mourinho has warmed my soul this morning 😂 pic.twitter.com/nyc45OPt8a
— Fitzy (@Fitzy__07) October 1, 2025
Appearing on Premier Sports' coverage in Ireland, O'Neill was asked if he was happy to see Jose back at Stamford Bridge for the Champions League encounter.
He responded: "I think he's a great manager. He's very clever. He's just wanting to remind people of how good he was.
"He's trying to play down as if he's settled a little bit. Jose will never settle.
"Great, great manager, what he did. It doesn't mean they didn't cheat their whole way to the UEFA Cup final, and lie down in heaps with that Porto team."
The presenter interjected, saying: "Not that you hold a grudge, Martin."
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O'Neill came back in: "Listen, every night," before continuing: "If the world ended tomorrow, he's one of the greats.
"What he did at Chelsea. This idea that he locked up shop - he knew how to win, and he won.
"I've got the utmost admiration for him as a winner. He took Chelsea up there, with their great players such as Frank Lampard, Drogba and John Terry at the back.
"It doesn't matter that he had all of these players, you still have to manage them and get them to win consistently, and that's what he did."
