Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho believes that he isn’t really being allotted the transfer market war chest that he thinks he deserves. It’s certainly no secret that Mourinho feels this way, but it remains to be seen if this is a legitimate issue for him that could cause him to leave Old Trafford well before his contract expires, or if he’s just posturing for leverage in obtaining a possible contract extension.
Mourinho has publicly flirted with Paris Saint-Germain, who more than doubled the world transfer fee record for Neymar this past summer, so if the Portugese moved to PSG, he’d certainly be allocated all the resources he wants in this regard.
However, the previous record belonged to United and Paul Pogba, and that deal was done in Mourinho’s first transfer window at the club. It’s complicated issue, and you can make valid points on both sides. United is, by most measurements, the richest club in the world and thus should not pinch pennies, like they did in trying to acquire Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic this past summer.
Mourinho wanted four players this summer and he only got three.
On the other hand, the amount of money Mourinho has been able to spend in both transfer windows at United has been extremely exorbitant. He’s also the first manager in history to reach £1 billion spent on new players acquired across his entire career.
So you can make the case on either side about Mourinho has been given/not been given.
Moving ahead, it appears he won’t be allowed to buy any new players this January transfer window, unless he first sells off the fringe players.
The Daily Mail, citing a BBC report, writes that “United chiefs want to keep a lid on spending when the window reopens and don’t plan on making the squad any bigger than it currently is, according to the BBC…And Portuguese boss Mourinho will be told by the Old Trafford board that he has to sell players in order to bring new faces in.”
Mourinho has spent £285 million on six new players over the course of his two seasons at Old Trafford, but he still hasn’t been able to register a road win against any of the Premier League’s big six. Mourinho came in at the exact same time as Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, who similarly splash the cash with frequency, and in huge amounts.
However, this season has seen City jump out to what seems like an insurmountable lead for the league title race, while United, following a really hot start, have taken just four points from their last four matches.
Last season, United could only muster a sixth place finish, and thus it’s pretty clear right now that Guardiola is maximizing the returns on his club’s investments much more than Mourinho is.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune corporation blogging community Chicago Now.
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