Massimo Moratti is delighted to see Jose Mourinho back in Serie A, even if it won’t be with Inter.

Mourinho was officially announced as Roma’s new head coach for the 2021-22 season, more than a decade after he led Inter to the treble under Moratti’s ownership.

The Special One will have the chance to renew his rivalry with Inter boss Antonio Conte, which became very spicy while they were managing together in the Premier League.

“I was surprised by the news but I’m extremely pleased for Mourinho,” Inter’s former owner and president Moratti told Calciomercato.com last night.

“Serie A will become a brilliant and more interesting league now he’s back.

“I spoke to him after he left Tottenham Hotspur and we talked like two people who want the best for each other, but nothing more.

“It’ll be interesting to see Mourinho’s rivalry with Conte again, they’ll certainly both be fired up.”

Conte has led Inter to their first league title since Mourinho left the club and Moratti couldn’t help but be impressed by how the former Juventus boss had fared this season.

“He deserves a lot of the credit, he stayed strong in the difficult moments,” Moratti argued.

“He did very well against teams who we thought were stronger, most notably Juventus.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that a coach who’s had this success should stay, although his comments after Inter won the league mean I’ll have to try and understand Conte’s character.

“He’ll be trying to understand what the future holds, which will be positive.”

Moratti also encouraged Inter fans to keep faith with owners Suning and in particular Steven Zhang, of whom he remains a very big admirer.

“For how I knew them, they were a very reliable group,” he assured.

“I trust them: if they say they’re thinking about staying and improving the situation at Inter, I have to believe them.

“Zhang is an incredibly courteous person; as soon as Atalanta drew at Sassuolo on Sunday (confirming Inter had won the title), he was the first person to call me.

“It should have been the other way round!

“I’d planned to call him in the evening but instead he got in touch first; he was extremely kind and pleasant.

“Zhang was happy and excited, he’s a very good person.”

Moratti sold Inter to Erick Thohir in 2013 and has repeatedly denied rumours he could return to the Nerazzurri in the future.