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Tag: Jose Mourinho

  • Not my decision to sell Salah from Chelsea – Jose Mourinho

    Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says it was not his decision to sell Egypt forward Mohamed Salah when he was Chelsea manager.

    Salah, 25, left Stamford Bridge for Roma in 2016 and has scored 43 goals in all competitions for Liverpool since joining the club last summer.

    Mourinho, now manager of Manchester United, says the Blues opted to cash in on the player to fund other signings.

    “People say that I was the one that sold Salah and it is the opposite,” the Portuguese told ESPN.

    “Chelsea decided to sell him, OK? So the decision to send him on loan was a decision we made collectively, but after that, the decision to sell him and to use that money to buy another player wasn’t mine.”

    When asked about the matter at his news conference on Friday, Mourinho added: “Everybody knows I bought Salah; I was responsible.

    “I bought fantastic young player. We decided with him it was better for him to have a loan period.”

    Salah joined Chelsea under Mourinho in 2014 but was loaned to Fiorentina and then to Roma before making a permanent move to the Italian side for around £15m.

    On his return to the Premier League with Liverpool, Salah has scored 31 goals in 33 matches and won the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Player of the Year award.

    However, Mourinho says his form this season will have surprised even the player himself.

    “He is a fantastic boy. I am really happy for him. He has more than deserved player of the year and maybe more than that,” he added.

    BBC

  • Man Utd: I have no problem with Mourinho – Paul Pogba

    Troubled Man Utd midfielder, Paul Pogba says he has “no problem” with his manager Jose Mourinho and “transfers” are not on his mind.

    Pogba, 25, was left out of the starting line-up for both legs of United’s Champions League last-16 defeat by Sevilla in February and March.

    “He is the coach, he makes the decisions,” Pogba, 25, told French TV channel Canal+. “Me, I am a player. I accept it and I have to respond on the pitch.”

    The French international joined United for a then world record £89m in August 2016 and helped them win the League Cup and Europa League last season.

    He was a regular in the team but has fallen out of favour at times in recent months, with France manager Didier Deschamps saying the midfielder “can’t be happy” with his situation.

    In February, Mourinho described reports that Pogba regretted joining United and wants to leave in the summer as “lies”.

    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said this month he was offered the chance to buy Pogba in January.

    Pogba said: “Mourinho has made me captain. He gave me the keys, the responsibilities at a great club like Manchester United.

    “For the time being, I am at Manchester United and I am only thinking about the present. We are in the FA Cup final; I have a World Cup to come.

    “Transfers, all that sort of thing, are not on my mind.”

    BBC

  • Jose Mourinho set to drop players for United’s FA Cup semi-final

    Jose Mourinho set to drop players for United’s FA Cup semi-final

    Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is ready to drop established players for the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, after the Old Trafford club’s weekend defeat by Premier League bottom side West Bromwich Albion.

    United suffered a shock 1-0 home loss to West Brom on Sunday, handing the title to Manchester City, and Mourinho said his team were the “masters of complication”.

    They next visit Bournemouth on Wednesday before facing Spurs at Wembley.

    Mourinho indicated that some of those who played against West Brom would feature again at Bournemouth because they had lost their place for the semi-final.

    “Rotating is not the right word,” he was quoted as saying by The Independent. “If I play a player against Bournemouth and the player is phenomenal, he plays the semi-final.

    “So is not rotating, because rotating looks like a player plays against Bournemouth to give a rest to somebody that is going to play against Spurs in the semi-final.

    “So the word is not rotation, it is an opportunity for people, for some people, to play and to try to get a place in the team for Spurs.

    “Some of the guys that played (on Sunday) don’t have a place in that team.”

    Asked to clarify if he meant those who performed badly against West Brom would not play against Tottenham, Mourinho said: “Yeah.

    “What is the criteria for a manager to choose a team? I only know one criteria: (it) is the way you play.

    “Or do you want me to go for the price they cost, or their salary, or their beautiful face? The only way is to go with performance.”

    Ander Herrera was substituted at halftime against West Brom, while fellow midfielder Paul Pogba came off in the 58th minute, but Mourinho said that a yellow card had also been a factor in the Frenchman’s replacement.

    “It was not just him and he had a yellow card, so he was in a more difficult position than others,” Mourinho said.

    “And playing with only two midfield players, you cannot play with one player in risk of not being able to make a foul.

    “You can do it if your team is not losing the ball, but our team was losing the ball so easy with the complication, everything was complicated, so we were losing lots of balls.

    “Paul was out because of the yellow card, because in terms of the way he played, he was not worse than some others that were on the pitch for 90 minutes.”

  • Jose Mourinho admits city rivals superiority, targets second

    Jose Mourinho said he will not hide from the obvious gulf between his side and city rivals Manchester City ahead of Saturday’s eagerly anticipated derby meeting at the Etihad.

    Victory for Pep Guardiola’s side would seal the Spaniard’s first Premier League title after a season of dominance over their rivals.

    It would open up a 19-point gap between the two Manchester clubs and leave City on course to set a new record for the largest ever title-winning margin, currently held by United’s 1999-2000 team, who won the league by 18 points.

    Mourinho was uncharacteristically taciturn ahead of the game, refusing to discuss a number of topics, although he did confess that he will not try and talk down City’s obvious superiority in the league table.

    “My motivation is to finish second,” he told reporters on Friday. “I still have the motivation of finishing top four, mathematically it is not done. It is a good distance but not done mathematically.

    “So that’s the first objective but after that I don’t hide. In practical terms and to continue into next season especially, to finish second, third or fourth is exactly the same — you don’t win the title but qualify for the Champions League group stage.

    “But I prefer to finish third to fourth and I prefer second to third. We have been second for many, many months, it is our objective to fight for that and for that we need points.”

    Mourinho was in a sour mood ahead of the derby and refused even to discuss what he might have learned from Liverpool’s hugely impressive 3-0 victory over the champions-in-waiting in the Champions League this week.

    “I’m not a pundit, I’m not going to comment on the game,” he said, also declining to comment on whether, or where, City deserve to be ranked among the all-time best Premier League teams.

    “It is not for me to say that, it is for you to say that,” he said. “You see the number of points we have and it is easy to go to the record books and see that with the number of points we have, we would normally be in the fight for the title.

    “But we are not because City have a very good number of points that makes it very, very difficult for the team that is second to fight for the title, which we are not in this moment.”

    Mourinho did offer an interesting exchange when it was pointed out that he had beaten City this season — in the competition to sign striker Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal — and he was asked if that suggested United were more attractive to players than City.

    “Are we?” replied Mourinho. “That’s your opinion. It’s your opinion…. I don’t know, I have no idea if they were interested (in Sanchez) or not. I’ve no idea.”

    AFP

  • Transfer Rumours: Man Utd confident of signing Willian from Chelsea

    Manchester United are confident of signing 29-year-old Brazil midfielder Willian from Chelsea for £30m, according to the Sun.

    Manchester United coach, Jose Mourinho tried to land the Chelsea star last summer and talks took place with the player’s representatives.

    Willian moved to Chelsea in 2013 from Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala for a fee of £30 million, making 228 appearances and scoring 44 goals.

    The Brazilian has won two Premier Leagues, one League Cup, also with individual honours for winning 2016 Chelsea player of the year and Chelsea Player’s Player of the year award in 2016.

    Willian’s Stamford Bridge contract expires in 2020.

    Also, Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata is set to leave Old Trafford this summer, with Mourinho planning some big changes as he bids to build a side capable of challenging city rivals Manchester City next season.

    Mata, 30 this month, was signed for a then club record fee of £37.1m in 2014 from Chelsea and has gone on to make 182 appearances, scoring 39 goals.

     

  • Mourinho says Man City impossible to keep pace with

    Manchester City are “practically impossible” to keep pace with as they close in on the title, says Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho.

    City won 3-1 at Everton on Saturday, meaning they will clinch the title – their first since 2013-14 – by beating United at Etihad Stadium next weekend.

    Second-placed United have earned 68 points after 31 games, but still trail Pep Guardiola’s side by 16 points.

    “In other leagues we would be fighting for the title,” said Mourinho.

    United remain on course for their highest finish in the Premier League since winning the 2012-13 title in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge, having finished seventh, fourth, fifth and sixth in the past four campaigns.

    Their points tally is exactly the same as Tottenham had at the 31-game mark last season; Mauricio Pochettino’s men then just seven points behind the leaders, Chelsea.

    But, after a Champions League last-16 exit against Sevilla and accusations of playing “boring” football, Mourinho has faced some criticism in his second season in charge at United.

    The 55-year-old Portuguese has repeatedly defended his side’s results, most notably in an impassioned 12-minute speech during a news conference earlier this month.

    Before Saturday’s 2-0 home win against Swansea, Mourinho used his matchday programme notes to again claim United is a club “in transition”.

    Afterwards, he pointed to their league record and an upcoming FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham as evidence of their improvement this season.

    “Last season we won titles but finished sixth in the league,” said Mourinho, who led United to the League Cup and Europa League.

    “We want to finish second this year and have 10 points more than last season, more goals scored, less goals conceded, but there is a club which is making it practically impossible to follow.

    “We are having a positive season and we still have the FA Cup to come. We are going to fight for our presence there.”

    BBC

  • Ibrahimovic departure a big loss for European soccer – Mourinho

    European soccer has lost a “huge player” in Zlatan Ibrahimovic but the striker will raise the level of the game in the U.S following his move to LA Galaxy, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said on Friday.

    Ibrahimovic last week ended a short but successful stint at United where he won the League Cup and the Europa League.

    The striker has become the latest high-profile player to move to the MLS, following the likes of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard.

    Mourinho used his news conference ahead of Saturday’s English Premier League game against Swansea City to pay tribute to the talismanic Swedish forward who he previously coached at Inter Milan.

    “For me it’s always sad when the big players move towards the end.

    “I remember Luis Figo’s last match with me and Inter, it was one of my saddest moments.

    The Zlatan goodbye was more in that direction, he’s a huge player that European Football has lost.

    “But this period with LA Galaxy will be very good for him, he will be good for American football, because of what he can do; his personality, his passion and his professionalism,” Mourinho told reporters.

    Ibrahimovic sustained a bad knee injury in United’s Europa League quarter-final against Belgian side Anderlecht last April but returned to make seven appearances for the Old Trafford side this season.

    “His recovery was an example of what a professional should be,” Mourinho added.

    “For him (the move to U.S.) will just be a way to enjoy the last couple of years of football.”

    United will be without back-up goalkeeper Sergio Romero for the weekend’s game, after the Argentine international picked up a knock in his country’s 6-1 friendly defeat by Spain.

    Ashley Young was also injured on international duty with England but could play against Carlos Carvalhal’s 14th-placed side.

    United are second in the table on 65 points from 30 games as they bid to finish as runners-up to champions-elect Manchester City.

     

  • Mourinho concedes title to City rival says we have to finish second

    Mourinho concedes title to City rival says we have to finish second

    Jose Mourinho has admitted that Manchester United cannot win the Premier League title, insisting that they must now focus on finishing second.
    Manchester City currently lead the Premier League by 15 points, with 13 games of the season remaining.

    City have lost just once in 2017-18 – to Liverpool – and have drawn just twice, while United have suffered four defeats and recorded five draws.

    United face Huddersfield Town this weekend, while City take on Burnley, but Mourinho has now given up hope of overhauling Pep Guardiola’s side.

    “We need points to be the first of the last,” he told reporters.

    “We have to try to finish second, we are in this position all season, we were first for a few weeks and then we were always second.

    “The fight is open for second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth but is practically closed for the first.”

    Indeed, United have only a three-point lead over both Liverpool and Chelsea, in third and fourth, and are just five ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham.

    However, Mourinho says United have improved since the end of last season, and maintains that they are focused on silverware.

    “We’re doing better than last season and it’s very important for us to do better than last season,” he added.

    “We are trying to win something this season, and if not, we will try to be stronger for next season.”

  • Man United Manager, Jose Mourinho says £300m spend not enough

    Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho says the £300m he has spent on his squad so far is “not enough” after their 2-2 draw with Burnley on Tuesday.

    Jesse Lingard scored an injury-time equaliser and the draw leaves United 12 points behind leaders Manchester City.

    “We are in the second year of trying to rebuild a football team that you know is not one of the best teams in the world,” said the Portuguese.

    “Manchester City buy full-backs for the price of strikers,” he added.

    Mourinho was appointed United boss in May 2016 and broke the world record last summer to sign £89m midfielder Paul Pogba, plus £30m defender Eric Bailly and midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan for £26.3m.

    This year’s big deal was £75m striker Romelu Lukaku, as well as £31m defender Victor Lindelof and £40m for midfielder Nemanja Matic.

    “[Spending £300m] is not enough. The price for the big clubs is different than for the other clubs. The big historical clubs are normally punished in the market because of that history,” he said.

    “The boys are doing what they can and they are doing fine.”

    Mourinho was asked if eight points from the past five games was good enough for a club like United.

    He responded: “When you tell a club like Man Utd, do you think Milan is not as big as us? You think Real Madrid are not as big as we are?

    “I know what a big club is. One thing is a big club and another thing is a big football team. They are two different things.

    “When you speak about responsibilities to win the Premier League, Tottenham doesn’t have that responsibility because they are not a club with the same history as us.

    “Arsenal don’t have the responsibility to win it. Chelsea don’t have the responsibility to win it. When you speak about big football clubs, you are speaking about the history of the club.”

    BBC Sports

  • Eric Bailly needs surgery to cure ankle injury – Mourinho

    Eric Bailly may need surgery on an ankle injury that Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has now confirmed is “serious”.

    The centre-back has missed eight consecutive matches and last featured for United in the 1-0 Premier League defeat at Chelsea on November 5.

    Bailly sustained the problem on international duty and Mourinho could not say whether or not he might miss the rest of the season.

    “I think it is serious. I don’t know [how long he will be out],” Mourinho said after beating Bournemouth 1-0 at Old Trafford.”We are trying a conservative treatment but if the treatment is not resulting then probably it will end in a surgery procedure but let’s wait a little bit more.

    “I don’t want to be so pessimistic [as to say he might be out for the season]. I want to leave it with a doctor. I’m not a doctor. There’s nothing to hide, but I don’t want to be speaking about it.

    “Today, I played Chris Smalling and Phil Jones and we had Victor Lindelof and Daley Blind on the bench. Marcos Rojo was injured against Manchester City but nothing really big.

    “During the whole season, we’ve had problems with central defenders but, because the number is four or five, we manage always to have players available.

    “Chris Smalling is playing amazingly well for seven or eight matches in a row maybe, so we are fine.”