Jose Mourinho has paid tribute to Gerard Houllier following the former Liverpool manager's death.
Houllier's death on Monday at the age of 72 prompted an outpouring of grief from across football, with plenty of Reds figures paying tribute to the ex-Anfield favourite.
Whilst Spurs boss Mourinho never managed against Houllier, with their times in the Premier League not coinciding, he said he had spent plenty of time with the Frenchman in meetings.
Speaking to Amazon, Mourinho paid an unprompted tribute to Houllier, revealing he only has happy memories of his time talking with the former Reds boss.
"Can I have one minute to speak quickly about three of my colleagues?" he said after being asked the opening question of an interview.
"Gerard, I don't know if I want to cry or smile because I'm very sad but, at the same time, every second I spent with him was laughing.
"Anfield was part of his life and it's emotional to be here and remember him."
Mourinho subsequently went on to discuss Slaven Bilic's sacking at West Brom and Sam Allardyce's appointment at the Hawthorns.
Yet he returned to the subject of Houllier later in the interview, paying a special tribute to his friend when asked whether he would have appreciated the significance of a top-of-the-table clash between the Reds and Spurs at Anfield.
"Gerard was amazing," Mourinho said.
"I never played against him, I only shared hours and hours of meetings with him at UEFA and FIFA.
"With him, you learn or you laugh. So I miss him a lot."
Mourinho was subsequently seen respectfully acknowledging the Anfield crowd singing You'll Never Walk Alone before joining in with a minute's applause for Houllier.
