It is one day short of seven months since José Mourinho shocked the world of football by leaving Chelsea, fleeing from West London to Setúbal, the Portuguese city where he was born and raised.

By the standards of the Special One, the past months have been quiet. He has made few public appearances, instead spending time with his wife, children and two Yorkshire terriers. But now, the 45-year old says, the waiting is over. He is ready to return.

Speaking exclusively to The Times, Mourinho said he has enjoyed his time off. Sitting in his local coffee shop as Tami, his wife, collected food for the evening, he added: “I have lived for the first time for many years in my country, in my city, with my family.

“I had time to do things that I don’t have when I’m working. But now it’s enough. I will be somewhere next season. I’ve not agreed anything but it’s a good time for me for many reasons. I will come back with the same motivation as always.”

Away from London, away from the paparazzi who haunted his every move, Mourinho is a free man. No bodyguards or chaperones were in tow as he held court in the tiny café at the bottom of the exclusive avenue on which he lives, to the north of Setúbal.

His next managerial job has been the subject of fevered speculation, with Mourinho making a point of not visiting England, Italy or Spain for fear of being linked to clubs there.

Despite insisting that he has not spoken to any club, he has turned down a number of deals, presumably through his agent, including international jobs, although he will not be specific. “I had some good options this month,” he said. “Some good clubs and some good countries. But I decided to wait until the beginning of next season. That is right for me.”

Close observers of Mourinho say he has spent the past few months living a relatively hermit-like existence. He has spent time in Senegal, doing charity work, and has taken the family on a skiing holiday to Andorra, as well as a trip to Brazil. But most of his time seems to be spent at home in Setúbal. The port city is 40 kilometres south of Lisbon and sits on the northern bank of the Sado river estuary.

While English footballers may build their rural retreats into mock Tudor mansions, as you would expect from one with Mourinho’s sense of style, he lives in an upmarket, but not pretentious, part of town.

The family villa boasts a swimming pool and sun terrace, on which sits a small aviary, but there is no enormous iron gate or mile-long driveway. Its only extravagance is its hue. It is pink. Very pink. There are 30 or so similar properties on the strip, heading north out of Setúbal, all glazed in different pastel colours.

Here, associates of Mourinho say, he spends hours watching football from around the world. He vowed not to set foot inside any other stadium than the local club, Vitória Setúbal, until he returned to management.

The games he misses, he records. The games he cannot record, he has mailed to him. It is to here that he escaped when he walked out of Stamford Bridge and into a media maelstrom.

In the face of the undimmed speculation of a somewhat turbulent relationship with Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, he insisted: “When I say friends I include the board. I have no problems with Peter [Kenyon, the chief executive] or Roman. I always support my friends.”

Those friends may not include Avram Grant, however, the first-team coach who this week sought to lay the blame for Chelsea playing second fiddle to Manchester United in the Barclays Premier League at the door of his predecessor.

Mourinho’s face shrinks into an expressionless pall when asked about Grant’s comments on the team he inherited, and their league position. “I’m not interested in what he says,” Mourinho said. “I don’t care what Avram Grant says. I’m not interested.”

Soon after that, Mrs Mourinho was gone, bags in hand. And so, too, was José.