Jose Mourinho says it is more difficult to sign players in the transfer market now than when he was at Chelsea or when Sir Alex Ferguson was Manchester United manager.
The 54-year-old says Premier League sides are in stronger than ever before, insinuating that he is unable to buy players from his rivals as was possible 10 or more years ago, and weaken clubs like Bayern Munich can do in Germany’s Bundesliga.
United didn’t hesitate to splash the cash in the last summer transfer window, bringing in Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly while Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined on a free transfer.
Mourinho claims he will more than likely have to look abroad again this summer as top Premier League players now are very rarely able to be bought by another top club in the same league.
“I arrived at Manchester United at a difficult time,” the Portuguese gaffer told France Football. “But it was the same for David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.
“The period which followed the departure of Sir Alex was difficult to manage for the club and not only because of his departure.
“It is also a new era for English football. A period where economic power has become so big that it is becoming scary for everyone. Because this economic power is not concentrated in two clubs, like in Spain, or on only one, like Germany.
“In England, it is spread out. Of course, there are clubs more powerful than others and the expectations that go with them.
“But here, everyone is powerful now. The scene has changed. If I want to buy a Tottenham [Hotspur] player, I cannot. Nor a Manchester City player or a player from Arsenal.
“It was not the case before. At Chelsea, I signed Shaun Wright-Phillips, who was the best player at Manchester City or Ashley Cole from Arsenal. Sir Alex, when he wanted the best Tottenham player, he bought Michael Carrick and then [Dimitar] Berbatov.
“Take the example of Bayern in Germany. You know when they start to win the title every year? When, the summer before, they buy the best Borussia Dortmund player. [Mario] Gotze, then [Robert] Lewandowski the following year, [Mats] Hummels last year.
“Me, I arrive at a club that has a big and prestigious history, but that can no longer be written in the same way. No club in England, whether it’s Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, can no longer be dominant permanently. Power has divided. Everything is more difficult: buy, win, build.”
By Drew Darbyshire (@DarbySports)
