Jose Mourinho has taken a jab at Premier League fans’ disdain towards Chelsea when he first managed the club, pointing out the double-standard in fans now rooting for Manchester City.
Mourinho joined the club at a time when owner Roman Abramovich injected a huge amount of cash into it, which led many to claim that Chelsea had bought the Premier League top spot rather than earned it organically.
However, Mourinho believes that the old criticisms that were made of Chelsea are now fading away, but he is confused about why Manchester City haven’t been criticised for their recent spending habits, too.
The Chelsea manager said: “I don’t know why [Manchester City] are so popular when we weren’t. I don’t know why.
“In my time we were accused of buying the title, no? Because our owner was Mr Abramovich, just arrived in the country. Maybe now people see City in a different way. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s taken them six years to get to this stage while we won straightaway. And I don’t care. I don’t envy the fact that they have this kind of protection, of whichever word. It’s the way it is.
“Teams with success, people tend not to like them, no? If they want to make it impossible for us to compete with them in the market, yes it’s impossible. Financially, no, we can’t compete. Back then it was a free world. There was no Financial Fair Play. If your club was a rich one, your owner a rich one, there were no rules. It was an open situation.
“But times change. Many things people considered wrong 50 years ago are something very normal now. Maybe 10 years ago a huge investment in the club was something people hated, but in this moment it’s something people accept in a different way.”
Manchester City currently sit in second place in the Premier League table while Chelsea sit at third, and both teams will go head-to-head at 8pm GMT tonight.
