One of the greatest managers of the Premier League era, Jose Mourinho has always thrived on controversy.
Now in the hot seat at Roma, the 58-year-old still plays by his own rules. Ahead of his 1,000th game as a manager earlier this month, Mourinho assured the media prior to the match that the fixture had no special significance for him.
However, when Stephan El Shaarawy grabbed Roma a late winner against Sassuolo, the charismatic Portuguese celebrated wildly, sprinting down the touchline towards his players with delight.
"I was lying," Mourinho admitted to the media about his words before the game. "I had a tremendous fear that I would live forever with the memory of a defeat on the day of my 1,000th game on the bench. I lied to everyone about that."
It was yet another example of the minds games that we have all become used to from him over the years.
Sometimes, though, the antics of the 'Special One' have been known to wear thin. They certainly weren't appreciated by former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg following a January 2017 match between Stoke City and Manchester United - managed at the time by Mourinho.
The game had ended 1-1, after Wayne Rooney rescued a point for the Red Devils with a late free-kick. Most bosses might have felt fortunate to be leaving the Britannia Stadium with a point in the circumstances - but not Mourinho.
As part of the serialisation of his new book in the Daily Mail, Clattenburg recalled Mourinho arriving uninvited at his dressing room to protest about his performance during the game.
Mark Clattenburg recalls hurling a boot at Jose Mourinho
"It was not long after full-time when there was a knock at my dressing room door and United manager Jose Mourinho came in. I was just taking my boots off.
"‘You must be happy this time,’ I said. ‘You can’t blame me for that draw, can you?’
"‘I can,’ he said. He started going on about a handball in the penalty area by Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross.
"‘What you on about?’ I said. ‘I got that right, I know I did.’
"‘No. I’ve seen the video. You were wrong.’
"He was going on and on. I picked up my boot and launched it against the wall next to him.
"‘F***ing get out of my dressing room. Get out!’ Mourinho froze. I lost it with him. I did not give a s*** anymore.
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Clattenburg went on to reveal that the incident genuinely left him considering whether he wanted to carry on in the game, particularly after he saw a replay of the alledged penalty incident later that evening.
"I drove home while going over and over the Shawcross incident. I watched it on Match of the Day and I was right, the ball hit him flush on the chest. So why was Mourinho playing funny buggers with me?
"I went to bed that night and I knew I’d had enough. ‘You know what,’ I thought, ‘I can’t be bothered with idiots like that anymore.’"
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Clattenburg would follow his gut. Less than a month after his dressing room run-in with Mourinho, it was announced that the highly-respected official had resigned from his role as a Premier League referee to take up a role with the Saudi Arabian FA.
He has not refereed a match in European domestic football since April 29, 2017, when he took charge of Leicester's home clash with West Brom.
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