Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has fuelled speculation about his long term future at the club after refusing to commit his future beyond the end of the current season.

Amidst reports of a fall-out between Mourinho and Real Madrid's sporting director Jorge Valdano, Real beat local rivals Atletico Madrid with an aggregate score of 4-1 to progress to the semi-final of the Copa del Rey.

Before the game, Valdano had played down reports of a rift saying, There are no problems between Mourinho and I. He is our coach, the man who must lead us to triumph, and the team is proving to be very competitive under him. It's all about being better each season and we are better now than we were in the previous campaign. We expect to keep this up.''

However, Mourinho's post-match comments fueled further speculation on his future. He said, The world is full of rumors, but they're not all true. Regarding my future, we'll see what happens at the end of the season. Contracts aren't the most important thing in football. If all the parties are happy at the end of a campaign, they remain together. If they aren't, they don't.''

The speculation started when Valdano questioned Mourinho's decision to drop striker Karim Benzema to the bench, after their shock 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-table side Almeria.

Mourinho is reportedly not pleased with the club's decision to refrain from the entering the January transfer market, despite his demand for a striker to cover for the injured Gonzalo Higuain.

His latest comments has excited some of the Spanish and Italian press about a sensational return to Italian side Inter Milan, with whom he won the treble, before joining Real at the beginning of the season.

Football Soccer