Jose Mourinho says he has rejected offers from numerous clubs since leaving Chelsea in October, because he is not prepared to see his career "take a step backwards".

Mourinho, who recently said he was ready to return to management after eight months out of the game, has been linked with jobs at Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona, but all three clubs now seem to have coaches in place for next season. Roberto Mancini looks set to stay at Inter after backing down on his threat to quit, while Ramon Calderon, the Madrid president, says Bernd Schuster will stay on and Barcelona have appointed Josep Guardiola to replace Frank Rijkaard.

However, Mourinho insists he is prepared to play the waiting game. "Take Marcello Lippi as an example," he said. "He was world champion with Italy, now he's not working, so he's waiting for a club that's big enough for him. As I'm not prepared to take a step back and become a mid-level coach, I'll either work for a big club or I won't work. Full stop.

"That's why in these past few months I've turned down - I don't know - eight, nine or ten clubs, because I wasn't prepared to take a step backwards."

Despite failing to attract offers from top-level clubs in Spain and Italy, the Portuguese reiterated his desire to coach in one of those leagues. "Right now I have one priority: I would like to coach in either the Spanish or Italian championship, as these are the strongest in the world," he said.