Jose Mourinho is coming to Russia for the World Cup to provide analysis for a Kremlin-funded channel that offers no live coverage of this summer’s tournament. RT television announced the signing on Monday without disclosing the payment Mourinho will receive for appearing on a channel pushing Russia’s take on news to a foreign audience.
“Enigmatic football manager and self-styled ‘Special One’ Jose Mourinho has become RT’s latest signing,” the channel said. “He’ll offer his unique insight into the game for the channel’s FIFA 2018 World Cup Russia special coverage.”
RT has several foreign language services besides English and is particularly active on YouTube.
It was forced to register as a “foreign agent” in the United States in November for being part of “Russia’s state-run propaganda machine” – a charge RT denies.
RT quoted the Manchester United boss as saying that he was “very happy” and “looking forward to attending the World Cup in Russia this summer and sharing my insights into the games.”
The channel already has two former players as presenters: former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and former Liverpool and Aston Villa striker Stan Collymore. RT does not have the television rights to show World Cup matches but says it will provide “live text commentary” and reports.
The channel has hired a number of high-profile but controversial figures to present shows. These have included the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange while the channel currently airs shows hosted by former British MP George Galloway and former Scottish Nationalist Party leader Alex Salmond.
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