Jose Mourinho reveals whether he would be open to managing Celtic or Rangers

The Fenerbahce head coach is preparing his side to face Rangers in the Europa League last 16, with the first leg set to take place in the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul on Thursday night before the return leg at Ibrox next week.

Mourinho has managed in Portugal, England, Spain and Italy - winning league titles in all four - while he has also lifted the Champions League with Porto and Inter Milan, the Europa League with Manchester United and the Conference League with Roma.

Now aiming for similar success in Turkey, the 62-year-old, who famously hailed himself as the 'Special One' when first arriving in English football with Chelsea back in 2004, insists he is happy in his current role and not looking for a job elsewhere.

However, when asked about the prospect of managing in Scotland one day during his pre-match press conference, Mourinho admitted he could be tempted by the Celtic or Rangers job if offered.

"In this moment, no, because I have a job that motivates me and a job that demands loyalty," he told reporters. "But why not in the future? People can say that the Scottish league is a league of two teams, but it is a league of passion.

"For me, passion in football is everything. To play in empty stadiums or competitions where there is not that fire or passion, for me, that doesn't make any sense.

"Celtic and Rangers are big clubs with big fanbases, big emotions, big responsibilites and big expectations. Why not? But in this moment I have a job.

“Celtic has a fantastic coach like Brendan [Rodgers]. Rangers has [Barry] Ferguson now, so full respect for them, and I am not searching for a new job."

Mourinho would have been expecting to face Philippe Clement in the dugout but the Belgian was sacked by Rangers last week following a 2-0 home defeat by St Mirren. It will now be former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson who leads the Ibrox side into the Europa League showdown.

"I know Barry Ferguson as a player,” Mourinho added. “I don't know about his career as a manager. I respect the emotional bond between him and the club. That's important to me. You can talk about negative things as a manager, but it will be different and difficult compared to the previous manager. Their previous manager was focused on philosophy. In football, philosophy alone is not enough, you have to win on the field. It will be a difficult match for us, but it will be difficult for Rangers too.”