Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed that he never planned taking up any job in Portugal at the moment.
The 55-year-old was linked with a move to replace Rui Vitoria at Benfica few days after being sacked by the Premier League outfit.
Bruno Lage has been appointed the interim manager for the Portuguese side at the Stadium of Light, with the Eagles seven points behind league leaders Porto.
The Mirror revealed that the club president Luis Filipe Vieira has revealed his desires to bring the former Chelsea boss back to Lisbon.
He said that: " I am his friend. Who would not like to have Mourinho? "
Meanwhile, Mourinho while speaking with a Portuguese TV politely made clear that he has no intention of returning to work in his homeland at this moment.
"I have never confirmed, nor denied any offers throughout my career," he told CMTV. "I never got into this game of news feeding .
"I don't really want to go there, but the best way to respect a great club [Benfica] and a great president is to say that I was not offered .
"If I were, Benfica would be the first to know my decision. But to help end all the speculation on this subject, I will say that at this moment, today, I have no intention of working in Portugal. "
Mourinho added: " The best thing for Benfica is to support Bruno [Lage] and think about the future calmly. At the moment, I'm fine as I am. "
The Portugal tactician got fired after his side were thrashed 3-1 by current table toppers Liverpool earlier in December.
United are said to have paid the out of job boss a sum of £15 million as compensation package last month, allowing him to return to management when he sees fit.
But Mourinho has refused to speak out on his exit from Old Trafford and, despite not being directly asked about his United departure, added: "I always learned that when you leave a club, you do not talk.
"When you leave a club, you do not wash dirty clothes, when you leave a club, you do not seek to, at least publicly, do any kind of criticism, it's an ended chapter and that's how I always did it. "
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