Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho claims he chose not to sign Radamel Falcao or Angel di Maria last summer because their huge salaries would’ve ’caused an explosion’ at Chelsea.
In new book The Key to Mendes, Mourinho said he didn’t want either player, cited the effect of their wages on his dressing room
‘I can’t have a player earning €10m when others earn three, four or five. That would have caused an explosion.’
Colombia striker Falcao earns £265,000-a-week at Old Trafford, while former Real Madrid star Di Maria is paid £200,000-a-week.
Mourinho, who has been outspoken about UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules in the past, also believes Chelsea would’ve been unable to finance deals for the South American duo.
‘Jorge [Mendes] told me Di Maria and Falcao are his players and he has to find solutions for them,’ he said.
‘But if Chelsea doesn’t have the financial capacity to pay eight, nine, 10 million euros a year, because of Fair Play, of course Mendes has to think about his players.’
The undercurrent of Mourinho’s comments are that he could not sign Di Maria or Falcao because Chelsea could not afford either of their wages. Left unsaid by the self proclaimed “Special One” is that Manchester United were able to afford the wages of BOTH players and still comfortably meet the requirements of Financial Fair Play. No other team in the Premier League can say that.
With FFP in full effect now, United have a massive financial advantage over their Premier League rivals due their ability to almost print money through their commercial operations as well as the matchday revenue advantage that Old Trafford gives them.
