Jose Mourinho, who’s spent more money on transfers than any other manager in the history of football, believes money spent on transfers is ruining football.
He’s currently out in America and was speaking about the summer market, alluding to the fact Manchester City’s crazy spending is causing a knock-on negative effect.
“Some clubs are paying or they don’t buy because they don’t accept the numbers that are now ruling the market, or to do it they have to go the same levels and for me that’s what worries me a little bit because now we speak about £30 million, £40 million, £50 million in such an easy way,” he told the Telegraph.
“I don’t think it will ever kill the big clubs because the big clubs will always have the potential and conditions to produce this kind of money and not to be in problems. I think some other clubs, there will be problems when they realise that the money that is coming in and is going out and I also think that the financial fair play authorities, they have big work to do. Big work to do because probably there are some strategies of disguise but I have to believe that the financial fair play is going to have difficult work to do.”
This summer, Mourinho has spent £75m on Everton forward Romelu Lukaku, over £30m on Benfica centre-back Victor Lindelof and is likely to splurge big on a central midfielder as well.
A year ago, he broke the world record to buy Paul Pogba for £89.9m, paying a £40m agent fee in the process, signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly for over £30m each as well.
During both stints at Chelsea he was regularly the highest spending manager in the Premier League.
We’re not necessarily criticising him for doing it. If the club are backing him, it’s his prerogative to buy whoever he wants – but to take aim at rivals for doing the same…?
Preposterous.