Mou: "I wish I'd bought Diego López at the end of my first year"

José Mourinho faced the media on Friday lunchtime in a press conference dominated by talk of his future at Real Madrid and his achievements during his tenure at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Can you confirm that you're leaving? "I'll sit down with the club president [Florentino Pérez] and with [director general] José Ángel Sánchez, and we'll talk about my future. Not just as president, director general and coach, but as friends. We'll talk and we'll decide. There are five league games and one game in the Copa [del Rey] to go."

What's it like working amid rumours about your future? "The same as always. I think that in football it happens at practically all clubs. You look at Paris [Saint-Germain] and they say that Carlo [Ancelotti] is leaving. You look at Bayern [Munich], who have broken records in winning the Bundesliga, and their coach is being replaced by [Pep] Guardiola. You look at Manchester City and Roberto [Mancini] is leaving. You look at Chelsea and you see that [Rafa] Benítez is leaving, to be replaced by me or whoever. Many clubs are in similar situations. Some clubs are going to make a change, others aren't. The coaches work with the utmost professionalism. As coaches, we adapt. I have the pleasure and the honour of working for this club. I'm not as happy, because I lost a knockout tie a few days ago and you don't forget a sad fact like that in two days, but I keep on working."

Would your decision to leave be because of the press? "No, I don't feel any pressure at all. Pressure isn't a problem for me. My decisions have nothing to do with pressure because I don't feel any pressure. I have always lived like this. Our job is full of risks; it still is today, now that I have a lot of ex-players who have become coaches and all say the same: how easy it is to be a player and how difficult it is to be a coach. They tell me that it changes your life. That's why I tell my players to enjoy their lives as players."

What are your reasons for leaving? "It isn't worth talking about whether I'm leaving or not. And if I do leave, I won't tell you [the press] why I'm leaving or not. I have always left clubs on good terms. Although it seemed controversial, my departure from Chelsea wasn't. There have been no negative words or criticism for any of the clubs I have left. Quite the opposite. And the day I leave Madrid it won't be any different. The day I leave, be it this season or in one or two seasons' time, there'll be no interviews or criticism coming from me. Life is beautiful, life in football is fantastic, one stage finishes and another begins, one era ends and others begin. Always with the maximum respect for clubs."