Portuguese tells Barca to start looking elsewhere for a new centre back.
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Returning Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho has told Spanish giants FC Barcelona that they are “wasting their time” trying to sign coveted defender David Luiz this summer, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
The Liga champions lodged a whopping bid of £34.5 million for the Brazil international with the west London club on Thursday, however, the Blues immediately rejected that offer out of hand.
And now the self-styled ‘Special One’ has warned the Catalans in no uncertain terms that they would be pointless them returning with another bid for the 26-year-old, with the Uefa Europa League winners having no interest whatsoever in selling their best players to rival clubs.
“The bid? It’s lost time for them,” said Mourinho.
“My advice to them is to go to the second player on their list because they are wasting their time. We don’t want to lose our best players. No chance.”
That news will come as a big blow to recently appointed Barca boss Gerard Martino, who is understood to be desperate to bring the central defender to Catalonia during the summer transfer window following the many injury problems suffered by first-choice centre-backs Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol at the club last season.
And the Paraguayan saw Luiz, who has scored 12 goals in 109 appearances for Chelsea since arriving at Stamford Bridge from Benfica for 25m euros in January 2011, as the ideal man to take over from veteran Barcelona skipper Puyol at Camp Nou next season, although now he will have to look elsewhere for a new defender this summer.