Soccer: Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho could be on his way back to England sooner rather than later.

The Portuguese, who is currently involved in a public spat with Madrid director general Jorge Valdano, has never hidden his desire to return to the Premier League, where he enjoyed success with Chelsea before leaving in 2007.

"It's always important for me and my family to be happy and I love English football and my family love England," he is quoted as saying in the Sunday Mirror. "I have always maintained I will return one day but maybe it will come sooner than I expected."

Mourinho joined Madrid last summer after leading Inter Milan to the treble, including a Champions League success he was unable to achieve at Chelsea.

The former Porto boss insists he was not surprised when the end came at Stamford Bridge.

"I was never under any illusions," he said. "I understood the personality of Roman Abramovich and the culture of the people around him. And knew it was not a job for 10 years. My role was to give this man what he wanted - victory - knowing that, sooner or later, my time would finish, because there were too many things going on around me."