Better with one arm – Julio Cesar reveals Mourinho´s Casillas jibe

Jose Mourinho once remarked that even with one arm, Julio Cesar would be superior to Iker Casillas, according to the Brazilian goalkeeper.

Mourinho and Casillas endured a strained relationship during the Portuguese coach’s time in charge of Real Madrid, with the club captain regularly relegated to the bench amid an unhappy 2012-13 campaign.

Cesar, however, had flourished during Mourinho’s previous stint at Inter and, after his Brazil side beat Spain in the 2013 Confederations Cup final, he arranged a shirt swap with Casillas and wore his opposite number’s kit during the trophy presentation.

But the tribute was apparently met with derision from his former manager.

“When I got to the dressing room, I saw a message from Mourinho on my phone,” Cesar told Brazilian broadcaster SporTV.

“He said: ‘You’re crazy, it’s Casillas who should be putting on your shirt, not the other way around’.

“And he told me that with only one arm I stopped more than Casillas.”

Cesar revealed he urged Casillas after the final to seek out a meeting with Mourinho, although the impending departure of the Portuguese boss from the Santiago Bernabeu had been announced before the tournament. 

“Iker came to the dressing room to talk to me and I told him to have a discussion with Mourinho, which is difficult but he had to face it,” he added.

“Mourinho likes to get in the faces of those players who are considered stars at the teams that he manages.”