‘Special’ wishes
As a touching example of the enduring value of letters, today we’re sharing the second of two brilliant letters written by two legendary, but very different, football managers.
On Monday, we shared Jurgen Klopp’s letter to a young Manchester United fan. Today’s letter was written by Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho during his time as Chelsea boss, to the father of a young boy, who had secretly invited him to his dad’s birthday party.
Although it was written in 2014, it recently came to light again on social media following the reporting of Klopp’s letter.
Mourinho, aka the ‘Special One,’ is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who enjoyed unprecedented success while with the Blues, including winning the club’s first Premier League title in 2005.
Mourinho is widely considered to be one of the greatest managers of all time.
Dear Peter,
I understand from Bertie that today is part of your 50th birthday celebrations, and on behalf of everyone here at Chelsea, I wanted to drop you a line to wish you a very happy birthday.
Bertie was kind enough to send an invitation to me to attend, but unfortunately, we have a Capital One Cup match against Bolton Wanderers this evening and cannot therefore make it, however, hopefully qualification to the next round will be part of your birthday celebrations.
Kind regards,
Yours sincerely,
Jose Mourinho
With people sending fewer letters and doing more online shopping, the letters landscape and the Delivery job has changed.
Despite the continuing growth in parcels, however, letters remain a significant revenue stream for Royal Mail when it comes to paying for the Universal Service and keeping the whole operation running.
