EPL title a reward for my risk: Mourinho

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has said the English Premier League (EPL) title is his reward for risking a second spell at the London-based football club.

Belgium international Eden Hazard’s goal gave Chelsea a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace which saw them lift the trophy for the fifth time.

“When you go back to where you had success before, you risk a bit of your prestige and your history. I risked it but I can say we won again,” Mourinho was quoted as saying by bbc.com on Sunday. 

“In my country, Portugal, we say don’t go back to where you were happy before because it is a risk. “But I have taken that risk and I’m so happy because I won another Premier League 10 years later in my second spell,” he said.

Mourinho won two titles in his first stint in charge and clinched the third after coming back to the club at the start of the season. He also believes he has a place in Chelsea’s history.

He said: “I could choose another club in another country where it is easier to be champion but I chose the most difficult league in Europe where I was happy before.

“To win titles with two generations, 10 years apart, I feel I have a place in Chelsea’s history.”

The 52-year-old added he would continue being with the club as long as owner Roman Abramovich does not tell him to leave. “I will stay here until Mr Abramovich says anything. The day he tells me to go I will go,” he said.