Jose Mourinho believes Manchester City boss Manuel
Pellegrini has got his sums wrong when it comes to Chelsea's transfer dealings.
The Chelsea manager was responding to comments from his
City counterpart, in which he intimated that the Stamford Bridge outfit had
spent the most money in the Premier League over the 10 years.
Mourinho took exception to Pellegrini's interpretation,
however, and insists Chelsea spent wisely in the January transfer window in
order to comply with UEFA's Financial Fair Play ruling.
"Academically he is an engineer and he does not need
a calculator to work it out," the Portuguese said. "(Juan) Mata was
sold for £37million, (Kevin) De Bruyne £18million.
"That is £55million. We brought in (Nemanja) Matic
for £21million and (Mohamed) Salah for £11millon - that is £32million.
"So £55million minus £32million is £23million. So
for Chelsea in this window it is £23million - he does not need a calculator for
this.
"They (City) have a team for now, not for 10 years,
but for three or four - so experience, potential, power - and not worried about
Financial Fair Play because in the summer they spent. You do not need a
calculator for this."
Chelsea moved to the top of the Premier League with a 3-0
victory over Newcastle United on Saturday, but Mourinho insists he will not be
downbeat if his team fail to win the title.
"It won't be disappointing if we don't finish
top," he added. "I will be disappointed if my team can't keep this
level (of performance).
"If we don't win tomorrow (at West Brom) it's not
just about the title contenders (going above us), it's about Spurs and Everton
closing the gap.
"I don't how many points it will take to finish top.
Every team in the league will be very influential."
Chelsea continue their assault on the title against West
Brom at The Hawthorns on Tuesday, and will be boosted by the return of striker
Fernando Torres from a three-week lay-off with a knee injury.
However, captain John Terry will once more miss out with
a muscle problem.
"John Terry is still out. Fernando is back and
available for selection. I expect John to be back for the next game (against
City in the FA Cup)," Mourinho said.
Culled from Soccerway
