‘I’m going to break the rules to hug him’: Jose Mourinho can’t wait to see Carlo Ancelotti before Spurs vs Everton

Tottenham manager can’t wait to face his Everton counterpart for the very first time in the Premier League and says he will ignore the one-metre social distancing guideline to hug the Italian

Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho says he will have no problems ditching the elbow-bump in order to hug Carlo Ancelotti on Monday night.

Spurs host Everton in a vital fixture in the race for European qualification which sees two of the elite managers of the last 20 years come head-to-head for the first time in the Premier League.

Mourinho says he "loves" the Italian, who like Mourinho has managed at Chelsea and Real Madrid in an illustrious career, and believes Everton are lucky to have him.

"I think everyone in football admires Carlo as a coach and as a person," he said. "If you don't know him as a person, at least you know him as a coach.

"It's not because I like him so much as a person that I'm going to say the obvious, which is: he's one of the top managers in the world of the last two decades and of course now.

"I think it's a privilege for the Premier League to have Carlo back, it's a privilege for Everton to have Carlo as manager, or head coach, whatever way you want to call him.

"As a manager we all know him, and we don't need to speak of him, because his office in his house, I don't know if it's the house in Milan or London or Liverpool but some office in one of his houses is full of cups so he doesn't need anyone to speak about Carlo.

"As a person I had the privilege to know him for a few years, to stay and be with him a few times in Uefa meetings in some different occasions and I just love Carlo.

"I think he's a fantastic guy. I think I'm going to break the rules. Now is one-metre distance. I'm going to break the rules and I'm going to hug him because I like Carlo very much."

Tottenham manager Mourinho has great respect for Ancelotti (EPA)

Spurs, who need to win to reignite their Europa League hopes, will check on Dele Alli after he suffered a hamstring injury in training on Saturday.

PA