Jose Mourinho also known as “The Special One” in the sport of soccer is one of the most decorated managers and has won numerous trophies with the teams he has managed. He has immense respect and admiration from the soccer community worldwide and is currently the manager of AS Roma, a club in Italy’s top division, Serie A.
However, as he lamented AS Roma’s financial situation, Jose Mourinho subtly aimed a dig at Pep Guardiola’s capacity to spend large sums of money on new players. Guardiola recently caused a stir when he openly acknowledged that Kalvin Phillips might depart the team in January 2024.
🗣️💰 José Mourinho: “Not that I’m jealous, but Man City paid €80m for Kalvin Phillips and now Pep has said it would be better for him to leave in January. So he’ll leave and they’ll get someone else.”
“Our reality is very different. We’d like one, two, three or four new… pic.twitter.com/HutWRk4aOr
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) December 14, 2023
Jose said this regarding Manchester City and Pep’s transfer business, “Not that I’m jealous, but Man City paid €80 million for Phillips and now Pep has said it would be better for him to leave in January. So he’ll leave, and they’ll get someone else. Our reality is different,” as quoted by Roma Press.
Started with *not that I’m jealous* and then goes on to show that he is actually jealous 😭
— Ezenwayi Camp Nou 💙♥️ (@Jiji_Byte) December 14, 2023
Soccer fans around the world could not hold back as they expressed their views on different social media apps regarding Jose’s statements about Manchester City. One fan wrote on X( formerly Twitter), “Started with *not that I’m jealous* and then goes on to show that he is actually jealous,” regarding Jose being jealous of Pep getting to spend much more than he is at AS Roma.
Jose Mourinho opens up on his transfer struggles at AS Roma
After leading the Italian powerhouses to victory in the Europa Conference League during his first season, Mourinho is presently in his third year at the head. Last season ended with a loss to Sevilla in the Europa League final. Under the Portuguese manager, Roma has made it to Europe on several occasions. They are presently in fourth place in Serie A.
Although the team has spent money under Mourinho, they have mostly relied on loan signings before this season, with Sardar Azmoun, Renato Sanches, and Romelu Lukaku all coming in for a brief period. He has not been impressed with the board’s lack of commitment towards him and the club.
Jose Mourinho stats as As Roma manager #The SportsFlash
100 Games
53 Wins
19 Draws
28 Defeats pic.twitter.com/nJ0IJ5a38g— Sports Flash (@sportsflash_ke) April 25, 2023
Jose said during an interview, “Our reality is very different. We’d like one, two, three or four new players… however, it’s not easy for us to do that. If we bring in a defender in January, I’ll already be happy. But if you ask me if I’d like more than that, of course, I’d like more. But it’s not possible,” regarding FC Roma’s transfer struggles over the last 2 years under him.
Roma’s bad start to the season appears to have been forgotten by the Portuguese head coach, as the team is currently fourth in the Serie A standings. It remains to be seen how they perform in the remainder of the season as a lot will be required from Jose as well as his players to achieve any form of glory this 2023-24 season.