Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho will put their differences behind them to make a first ever joint TV appearance for the Champions League Final.
The pair were frequently involved in touchline bust-ups while Premier League managers – and almost came to blows in a game between Arsenal and Chelsea in October 2014.
But they have now buried the hatchet to join Qatar-based beIN Sports as pundits for the Liverpool-Tottenham match when it broadcasts across the Middle East and North Africa Region (Mena) on Saturday evening.
The futures of both men are currently undecided, but Wenger, who left Arsenal at the end of the 2018-19 season, recently hinted at a return to football though possibly not in management. Mourinho has also spoken of his ambition to be able to return to management, but only with club that has a clear direction of football development.
Both men have previously appeared as pundits on the Doha-based channel but this will be their first ever appearance in a studio together.
During their intense rivalry at the top of the English game Mourinho once called Wenger a ‘voyeur’ and a ‘specialist in failure’ while, in 2005, Wenger described the Chelsea boss as ‘stupid’ and ’disconnected with reality’.
Mourinho later spoke of his regrets at the touchline squabbles, including the one in October 2014 when the clash almost got physical. “Regrets? Little negative episodes, yes I do and probably he does also,” said Mourinho when, as Manchester United manager, he spoke of Wenger’s retirement.
“There are little things where it would obviously have been better without them, some gestures, some words would be better without it. I feel better now without it, no doubt about it. But again when I arrived in England 2004, Arsenal was the champion and it was the famous champions of the Invincibles. And I arrived and for the next couple of years was with them – Bergkamp, Thierry, Campbell, amazing teams. So again thank you very much for that, they pushed us to the limits.”
Mourinho has been a successful manager in the Champions League, winning the competition with Porto and Inter Milan. Wenger qualified for 19 consecutive seasons and reached the Final in 2006.
Yousef Al-Obaidly, CEO at beIN MEDIA GROUP, said: “We are thrilled to be hosting two of the all-time greats in the world of football. For the first time in sports TV broadcasting, both Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho will be live in the studio, covering the biggest European football competition and sharing fascinating stories from their illustrious careers.”
Arsene Wenger (left) and Jose Mourinho.
