"Abramovich had come to Porto to contact the very probable opponent in the Champions League Final. Then Chelsea took it upon themselves to lose 3-1 in Monaco and draw 2-2 at home to avoid a possible UEFA investigation into the owner of one of the finalists having agreed terms with the coach of the other finalist."
Although reluctant to comment publicly Chelsea are privately adamant that Pinto da Costa's claims are not true. Putting aside the suggestion of match-fixing, club sources point out that at no time have Porto complained of an illegal approach to Mourinho, either last April or in the subsequent months.
In his own recently-published autobiography, Mourinho claims that he did not meet Chelsea owner Abramovich until 28 May, two days after the Champions League Final, and Chelsea are standing by his version of events.
Mourinho said: "I had a meeting set-up with Liverpool in Manchester on the eve of the Champions League Final but I declined.
"I wanted to experience Porto forever so isolated myself. I said that I did not want to go to any meeting or make any decision and expressed this wish publicly. Any club or agent involved in this process had to wait until the end of the season."
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