ARSENE WENGER HAD a message for Jose Mourinho after the Manchester United manager bemoaned his club’s lack of spending power: welcome to my world.
Mourinho hit the headlines following the 2-2 home draw with Burnley yesterday, claiming his club cannot match the financial muscle of local rivals and runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City.
The Portuguese, who has spent in the region of £300million since arriving at Old Trafford in May 2016, described that figure as “not enough” while pointing out City’s ability to “buy full-backs for the price of the strikers”.
Wenger faced the media ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Crystal Palace on Thursday, and questions over Mourinho’s remarks prompted a wry smile from the Frenchman, who claimed to know exactly how his old foe was feeling.
“Look, I’ve been in that position for 21 years so I will not start to complain now,” he said. “There is always one team, sometimes four, who were richer than I was, so I learned to cope with that and to deal with that.
“I think what is most important is you deal with your own situation as well as you can and, yes, Manchester City are richer than us; yes, Chelsea are richer than us and Manchester United are richer than us, but I still believe we have to find a way to be successful.”
So is Jose admitting the only way he can succeed is by buying it?
@Jamie Smith: No….only that other managers can’t win without buying it
@Summer Bay Devil: like ranieri
@petergovan38: or even conte
@Conor Mahon: Or Jim Gavin!! Oh no I didn’t. Gettin mah troll on
@Jamie Smith: He’s lost his spark has José.
He has clearly forgotten that Luke Shaw was more expensive than Gabriel Jesus
@Ruairi Doyle: he wasn’t you donut
@Paul Friday Shannon: he was you pastry
@Gabe: £27 mill +6 mill in add ons is £33 million, Shaw was £30 mill
United paid £35m to Pogba’s agent, City paid £33m for Jesus. Good man Jose.
@Malachy Rivers: jose doesn’t have any control over agents payments. Good man Malachy.
Wenger always had money but he just choose to go to deals when he could have gone Brown Thomas
Last 3 Champions net transfer fees:
Chelsea 6.3 m (with Mourinho!)
Leicester -36 m
Chelsea -23.5 m
Spending at man u over the same period (most recent 3 years excluding current half season)
-131.45 m
-48.54 m
-124.07 m
So what exactly is he talking about?