Jose Mourinho says the problem is not him. The problem, he told Corriere dello Sport, is where he happens to be managing when a refereeing scandal lands.

“I don’t think the problem lies with me personally. The problem is the bad luck I face when I arrive at a certain club,” the Portuguese told the Italian paper.

He then pointed at the Negreira case directly.

“I lived through the important phase of the Negreira case here at Real Madrid. Nobody knew about it, but we lived through it. It happened.”

Read also: Unstoppable Infantino: FIFA boss closes in on third term as rivals pull out

Mourinho is in his second spell at the Santiago Bernabeu, having returned to the club this summer. His first stint, from 2010 to 2013, falls inside the window Spanish prosecutors are examining.

What the investigation covers

Barcelona are accused of paying more than €7.3 million between 2001 and 2018 to companies owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee. Barcelona, former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, and Negreira and his son are facing charges of corruption in sports, fraudulent management and falsification of commercial documents.

Barcelona have always maintained the payments were for technical refereeing reports and denied any wrongdoing. The investigation is expected to conclude by the end of 2026, with a trial pencilled in for 2027.

Real Madrid are a complainant in the Spanish proceedings and handed UEFA 50,000 pages of case material on 3 October.

Read also: De Bruyne at Paris Fashion Week

Turkey added to the complaint

He did not confine the grievance to Spain.

“In Turkey, after a big Turkish scandal, this kind of situation used to happen to me a lot,” he told the paper, referring to his time at Fenerbahce.

The interview also touched on an incident involving Vinicius Junior and referee Prestianni, in which Mourinho said he was “a victim of public opinion.”

Clasico on 25 October

Barcelona host Real Madrid at Spotify Camp Nou on Sunday, 25 October, and Mourinho’s side arrive on the back of a 2-1 derby defeat to Atletico Madrid on 20 September that left them six points off the leaders.

Read also: “He wanted to hit me”: Thomas Müller reveals wild David Luiz detail from 7-1 thrashing

Barcelona have not responded to the comments.

Read also: Cristiano Ronaldo could cost Ange Postecoglou his job at Al-Nassr