Jose Mourinho spoke to the press ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield game against Leicester about a variety of topics, including the fourth signing that we are set to make soon, which is likely to be Paul Pogba.

His response to one of the questions clearly showed Mourinho wasn’t very happy with two of his “colleagues”, when asked whether United had enjoyed the best transfer window so far.

I don’t know. I only speak about us. I heard two of my colleagues from other Premier League clubs speaking about us, which I have to confess I don’t like. It’s not ethical. There are things that I do that aren’t ethical, but when others do, nobody says that, everything is normal. But the reality is I don’t speak about the others, they can do what they want.

I think our market was good. We made decisions. We decided to bring in four players, not 10. Four that are a Man United level. We decided to bring four that can really improve the squad. This is the profile of our market.

We got a young central defender that needs time to be a top one, but he has top potential and we believe in him a lot. We’ve brought in a creative player, a player with quality that we know he has. We brought in a striker, and we are going to get a very good midfield player. We are trying to get balance so I am very happy with my squad. I’m happy with the efforts the club did and is still doing for us. If the others have a problem, they can do what they want.

Liverpool’s manager, Jurgen Klopp, was claiming he would never agree to a deal which saw £100m spent on a player, as United are set to do for Pogba.

If you bring one player in for £100m and he gets injured, then it all goes through the chimney. The day that this is football, I’m not in a job any more, because the game is about playing together. That is how everybody in football understands it. You always want to have the best, but building the group is necessary to be successful.

Other clubs can go out and spend more money and collect top players. I want to do it differently. I would even do it differently if I could spend that money. I don’t know exactly how much money we could spend because nobody has told me, ‘No, you can’t do this’. If I spend money, it is because I am trying to build a team, a real team. Barcelona did it. You can win Championships, you can win titles, but there is a manner in which you want it.

Klopp is of course forgetting that Barcelona were able to supply their first team with youth players, including Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Vades, Puyol and Busquets. When you consider that Liverpool’s academy doesn’t contain players half as talented as that and Klopp has sold Jerome Sinclair, Jordan Ibe and Brad Smith this summer, spending £70 million in the market so far.

Arsene Wenger also discussed the Pogba a few days later, although was less critical than the Liverpool manager.

It is completely crazy if you cannot afford to pay it. If you can afford to pay it you can justify it. It is completely crazy if you compare it to normal life. That is for sure. But we live in a world where every activity that is worldwide makes a lot of money.

Football has become a worldwide competition and that is why clubs can afford to do it. Does it make sense in the way the player can give you that investment back? Nobody ever could calculate. Since I am in this sport I always thought the record cannot go higher and I was always wrong. Maybe in a few years it will be 200, 300 [million], who knows.

The season hasn’t even started yet but Mourinho has already set out his stall.




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