Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has today said that Aspiring footballers want to make millions before they have even played in the Premier League. He also says that he wishes young players were more like Chelsea legends Frank Lampard and John Terry who were “Fanatical for victories”.
Talking to Esquire magazine, Mourinho criticised the celebrity and wealthy culture that surrounds teenage prospects.
“What I feel is that before, players were trying to make money during their career, be rich at the end of their career” said Mourinho. ” But in this moment, the people who surround them try to make them rich before they start their career”.
“They try to make them rich when they sign their first contract, when they didn’t play one single match in the Premier League, when they don’t know what it is to play in the Champions League.”
Chelsea regular John Terry came through the Chelsea academy whilst fellow Chelsea regular Frank Lampard was bought for £11 million after coming through the ranks at West Ham. Both have been regulars for England and are now enjoying a new run of form with Mourinho back at Chelsea. They won their first Premier League title under Mourinho back in 2005 and are currently part of the Chelsea side 4 points clear at the top of the Premier League.
“You have to find the right boy: the boy who wants to succeed, his pride and passion for the game” added the Blues boss. “His dream is not one in a million or one less million, his dream is to play at the highest level to win titles, because if you do these things you’ll be rich the same at the end of your career”.
“So we are working hard to give the best orientation to young players, to follow examples of guys from the past – the Lampards, the Terrys – who were always fanatical for victories.”
The former Real Madrid manager talked about how his players would “queue in front of the mirror before the game while the referee waited for them in the tunnel.”
“But that’s how society is now. Young people care a lot about this; they are twentysomething and I am 51 and if I want to work with kids I have to understand their world.”
– @CaldaTSP
