Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho was bizarrely handed a sprinkler by a journalist at a press conference ahead of his side's Champions League tie with Inter Milan.

Mourinho returned to the Bernabeu for a second spell this summer, 13 years after his first stint ended.

His initial arrival at Real in 2010 followed a hugely impressive two years with Inter, where Mourinho led them to the Champions League title in the 2009-10 season.

And, ahead of Mourinho coming up against the Italian side in his first European game since coming back to his former club, Italian reporter Tancredi Palmeri gave the Special One a reminder of one of his most iconic nights at Inter.

During the aforementioned successful European run, they beat Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

Following the second leg of that tie - which Inter lost 1-0 - Mourinho famously celebrated by sprinting across the Nou Camp with his arms in the air before he joined his team for further festivities on the pitch.

As they celebrated, the sprinklers were turned on, yet Inter's players continued to enjoy themselves despite being soaked in a moment that has become hugely iconic in the competition's history.

As Palmeri handed Mourinho the sprinkler, which was wrapped in a blue ribbon, to remind him of that night, the Portuguese coach shook hands with the reporter and appeared to be amused at the gift.

Palmeri had earlier said on TV: 'The mission is very difficult, almost impossible, to get a gift to Mourinho. It's difficult, but we'll try.'

He eventually gave Mourinho the sprinkler at the end of the press conference.

During the semi-final tie 16 years ago, Inter produced a defensive masterclass to only concede once against Lionel Messi and Co to secure their spot in the final, where they went on to beat Bayern Munich 2-0.

Reflecting on that memorable night years later in 2019, Mourinho shared the secrets behind it.

'There was a combination of ideas, but basically everything was around not letting Messi play,' he told the Coaches' Voice in 2019.

'In Italy they were using the word "Gabbia". I think the real translation is like a jail for Messi.

'Because in the end we didn't play man-to-man, but (Javier) Zanetti, (Thiago) Motta, (Esteban) Cambiasso, everybody was responsible for any position that Messi could go.'