Thaindian News

Madrid, Jan 25 (IANS) Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho evaded all awkward questions in his pre-game conference ahead of Copa del Rey football quarter-final return leg against Barcelona.

Mourinho’s side travel to Barcelona after a 1-2 home defeat which appears to have opened up cracks in the unity of the Madrid squad with rumours of divisions between Spanish and Portuguese players at the club, Xinhua reported.

Meanwhile, sports paper Diario AS Tuesday published that Mourinho wants to abandon the club at the end of the season.

When asked about both issues in a tense press conference, Portuguese manager was evasive in his replies, saying that he was in a “good moment,” at the club.

He said that he “did not promote clans,” when asked about divisions in the dressing room and denied that anyone in the club had been filtering the story to the media.

Mourinho was also asked about his reaction after he had been booed by a section of the Real Madrid fans during Sunday’s win over Athletic Club Bilbao.

“I don’t know about that, ask the fans, not me,” he said.

When questioned about whether or not Pepe would play in the Camp Nou after the defender’s stamp on Lionel Messi’s hand during the first leg last weekend, Mourinho said that the defender would play if he was fit, before adding that he still had fitness doubts over Pepe as well as midfielders Esteban Granero and Lassana Diarra.

“We will wait until the last minute, we will train tomorrow and then we will decide,” Mourinho said.