Jose Mourinho paid a beautiful tribute to Sir Bobby Robson after arriving at Newcastle - even speaking to his bronze bust outside of St James' Park. Mourinho, 62, was mentored by Newcastle legend Robson across six years in the mid-1990s, having served as his translator at both Sporting Lisbon and Porto.

Robson, who passed away in 2009, also took Mourinho to Barcelona to be his assistant manager. The future Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss then turned down the chance to be Robson's No.2 at Newcastle.

Mourinho has managed at St James' Park plenty of times since Robson's passing but not since 2021 or in a European fixture. On Tuesday, his Benfica side will face Newcastle in a crunch Champions League tie, and his affection for both Robson - and the Toon Army - was clear in his pre-match press conference.

"At this stadium, people don't come here to watch the game, they come to play alongside the team," Mourinho claimed. "This city has a totally different culture to London, and the big clubs like Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal.

"I love coming here to play. I've told my players, it's beautiful, that it's an extraordinary atmosphere in this stadium and in this city."

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The Portuguese added: "I exchanged a few words with Bobby as I came back here today. It's a great emotion. When I walk in here, I feel close to him.

"One thing he gave me was the opportunities. He took me to Barcelona. It was an incredible experience for me and that door is a huge door that was opened by Sir Bobby.

"The second thing is what I learned at the football level and at the human level. And the third thing is the trust he put in me. I tried to pay him back with everything I gave. I don’t know if I ever did, but I tried to give him everything that I had. That for me is enough.

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"I worked with Sir Bobby for six years and there was not a single day he did not show his passion for Newcastle, the city, the region and the football club, the pride and the passion he felt for it. Even when I was the manager of other English clubs, I've never hidden how dear Newcastle is to me because of the influence of a legendary person at this club."

Mourinho, who was appointed by Benfica last month, just 21 days after being sacked by Turkish giants Fenerbahce, has previously been tipped to manage Newcastle. But he confirmed that he's never been approached by the Magpies and hopes to see current boss Eddie Howe continue doing a stellar job.

"I don't regret because I never had the chance to, I never said 'no' to Newcastle United," Mourinho revealed. "To be honest, now I don't think they need a coach. I hope that they don't need one in the next years, which means everything goes well for the club and for Eddie, which is what I wish."

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