Emotional Jose Mourinho moved to tears in press conference as he pays tribute to former player

Jose Mourinho broke down in tears during a press conference as he spoke about the death of former player Jorge Costa.

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Mourinho was emotional as he spoke of Costa’s death at the age of 53Credit: @voetbalzonenl / X

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Costa won the Champions League as Porto’s captain under MourinhoCredit: Getty
The former defender lifted the trophy after leading the Portuguese giants to their historic Champions League glory in 2004.

Costa was part of Porto’s defence throughout Mourinho’s two-year spell at the club, which culminated in that triumph.

And after he passed away following a cardiac arrest, the iconic manager paid an emotional tribute to his ex-captain.

Just a mention of Costa’s passing hit Mourinho hard, as he struggled to hold back his emotions sitting at his press conference.

The Fenerbahce boss then wiped away some tears and covered his face before looking back up again to speak about his former captain.

Mourinho said through his tears: “It’s part of my history that goes. You have captains, you have leaders, sometimes it’s not about the armband it’s about what you represent.

“Jorge was one of those guys who cleaned the garbage and let the coach do his job as a coach and not as a leader of a dressing room. That’s perfection for a coach when his captain does this work.

“Of course, I’m very sad, it’s part of my history that goes. Let’s forget football, let’s focus on him, on Jorge, a young guy… on his kids.

“I’m very sad, but I’m here because if he could speak with me now he’d tell me: ‘Come on, do you press conference and come on, play the game, win the game and forget about me’.

“So that’s what I’m going to try to do, I will do my job today and tomorrow and then cry after.”

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Mourinho wiped away tears as he spoke about CostaCredit: @voetbalzonenl / X

‘Dreadful news’

Tributes have been flooding in since the news broke of Costa’s death, with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the messages.

Another former manager in Alan Curbishley has paid tribute to the ex-Premier League defender too.

Costa played under Curbishley when he joined Charlton Athletic on loan, where he quickly became a fan favourite.

“You can’t believe it, it is dreadful news,” Curbishley said.

“Whenever Jorge Costa’s name is mentioned I have to smile because of some of the things that went on when he came and played for us.

“He integrated with the players fantastically well and everyone appreciated how good he was. He came and did a fabulous job for us.”

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The former Charlton defender passed away following a cardiac arrest
The legendary Charlton manager added: “He was a fantastic person who always got his point across.

“Everyone respected him because of his ability. He was a great lad.

“He was so confident in his own ability, he wasn’t phased about who he was playing against. He was a nice lad, so it’s really sad.

“I did have a chat with him probably a couple of years ago because he was interested in coming to Charlton for the manager’s job, I don’t know who had been let go.

“That’s how much Charlton meant to him, he was only here for four, five months but it was a big thing.

“He helped us enormously and we helped him.”