Jose Mourinho insists there is nothing to stop him returning to the Barclays Premier League this summer.

It had been rumoured the Portuguese coach had signed a severance deal when he left Chelsea in September which prevented him taking another job in the English top flight for two or more years.

Speaking publicly for the first time since his sensational September departure from Stamford Bridge, Mourinho yesterday categorically denied any such agreement existed.

"People wrote that I couldn't work in England for the next two years or four years. That's not true," he said.

The self-styled 'Special One', who rejected the chance to become England boss in November prior to Fabio Capello's appointment, revealed he planned to end his self-imposed exile from the game this summer.

He reiterated that he did not want his next job to be in this country but promised to return.

Speaking in Valencia at the official global launch of MiCoach, a real-time training system devised by adidas and mobile phone giants Samsung, he said: "I don't hide that I was completely in love with English football.

"I don't hide that one day I will be back.

"Not the next step because I would feel very uncomfortable, after Chelsea, going back to England and working again at another club."

Oozing the charm and charisma that made him one of the leading personalities in the Barclays Premier League, Mourinho also ruled out a move to Germany, effectively limiting his options to Spain and Italy.

He said: "I want to be back. Of course, not now. We are in the last two months of the competitions so I wouldn't get a team now.

"But I look forward to the next few months, June and July, and hopefully I get the kind of projects I have in mind for the start of the new season."

Mourinho, who has spent the past five months taking holidays with his family and keeping close tabs on the world of football, believes the Football Association ended up making the right appointment for the job he rejected.

He said: "They've got the right man, the right coach, the right person. I think he's fantastic."

Mourinho backed the FA to put a structure in place to allow an English coach to become national team boss.

He also had some advice for the powers that be in English football and the Premier League's ill-fated plan to host matches overseas.

"If you want to do something abroad, why not the Charity Shield in New York, the Carling Cup final in Tokyo or Seoul or wherever?" he said.

"But the Premier League is my Premier League and the FA Cup is the FA Cup. English supporters will always be English supporters and English stadia will always be English stadia."

More news from SportingLife.com