Mourinho and Wenger set to Face-Off at Champions League Final

By Nigel Philips

Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger will rekindle their long-running rivalry when they face off as pundits for beIN Sports in Saturday’s Champions League final game between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Dating back to 2004 when Mourinho took over Chelsea for the first time, he and Wenger, who was then in charge of Arsenal, have had numerous verbal and physical confrontations.

Wenger famously labelled Mourinho “a cheque-book manager” in 2004 after the Portuguese splashed the cash to secure numerous high profile players who helped win Chelsea’s first League title in 50 years.

Mourinho also responded by calling Wenger “a specialist in failure” in 2014 after Wenger had failed to win a major trophy with the Gunners for nine years.

In October 2015, the two faced off again at Stamford Bridge in a Premier League game between Arsenal and Chelsea, that ended up with Wenger pushing Mourinho before the pair were separated by the match officials.

Both Mourinho and Wenger have analysed games for beIN Sports in the Champions League this season, but this will be the first time both managers will be doing so together in the same studio.

In recent times, the rivalry between the two seems to have cooled down with Mourinho praising Wenger after the Frenchman picked up a lifetime achievement award at the Laureus Sports Awards in February.

“I can only speak by myself. I really enjoyed the competition. But the real respect is always there,” Mourinho said of Wenger. “He made lots of history in that football club.

“One of the best football managers in the history of football.”

Wenger appeared surprised after learning of Mourinho’s glowing tribute, saying: “It was a surprise, yes, because we had some good fights. Time appeases it always.”