Former Real Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano has claimed that former Bernabeu coach Jose Mourinho does not have anything worthwhile to say about football.
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Ex-Blancos player and coach Valdano, who left the club amid rumours of a power struggle with Mourinho, with whom he had a frosty relationship, also hinted that the Chelsea boss was jealous of the achievements of ex-Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.
The former Argentina forward made the claims in the new Italian edition of his book 'The Eleven Powers of the Leader,' with Mundo Deportivo quoting him as writing: "Mourinho is a personality made for these noisy and empty times.
"I never heard him say something about football, in public or in private, that was worth remembering. I could never understand him as we were coming from opposite poles. Intelligence and egos are enemies -- when they clash, the ego wins. If Guardiola is Mozart, then Mourinho is Salieri. He would be a great musician if Mozart did not exist."
Speaking about the book on El Larguero radio show, Valdano said he was not concerned about Mourinho's reaction to his comments.
"I do not tell anyone how to think, and I do not like it when people tell me how I must think," he said. "I have not heard from [Mourinho's] camp about the book -- I have no close relationship with them. It is not so important. What I say there I have said before, it is just being published now.
"He is a winning coach, very professional, passionate. He is a good coach, but his thinking on the game is very different than mine. He is much more interested in results, and he often gets them."
Asked about Mourinho's three seasons at the Bernabeu, Valdano said that not winning the Champions League with such a talented squad had ultimately counted against him.
"[Mourinho] had one of the best squads in the history of Real Madrid," he said. "He always remained just outside the door of the Champions League. That was the big challenge which he did not manage to succeed at."