Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho wasted little time in firing back at his rivals on Friday, as he responded to talk of the club’s transfer activity.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference ahead of United’s encounter with Leicester City for the Community Shield on Sunday, Mourinho covered various topics of discussion.
After Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger described Paul Pogba’s reported €110m transfer fee as “completely crazy”, as noted by Sky Sports, The Daily Star added that Jurgen Klopp had slammed the money involved in the transfer.
While the wait goes on for Pogba’s return to United to be confirmed along with the final transfer fee that Juventus will receive, Mourinho isn’t interested in what others have to say and reiterated that he’s fully focused on internal matters.
Nevertheless, he still couldn’t help but aim a swipe at his rivals, as the tension continues to rise ahead of the new Premier League campaign which kicks off in just over a week’s time.
“I don’t know,” replied Mourinho [to a question regarding who has had the best transfer market]. “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.”
Coupled with Mourinho’s rivalry with Pep Guardiola, the Portuguese tactician looks as though he won’t be holding back this year as he looks to guide United back to the top of the Premier League.
Having brought in Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan already this summer, the addition of Pogba will put the finishing touches to his work in the transfer window as he has ultimately rebuilt the spine of the squad.
Whether or not it proves successful compared to Wenger’s more underwhelming market thus far and Klopp’s strategy to spend across the board for various players remains to be seen, but it’s clear that the managerial trio are set for an intriguing battle this year.