Mourinho sees window of opportunity for Europe

Jose Mourinho thinks Manchester United’s Premier League rivals have opened the door to poaching of their players by voting to shut the transfer window before the start of the season.

Mourinho yesterday declared himself pleased England’s elite clubs agreed to close the window three weeks earlier from next summer, despite United opposing the motion because it would place them at a competitive disadvantage to clubs such as Real Madrid.

The Portuguese even claimed United could end up benefiting from the change, warning they could easily fend off late-august bids for their players while casting doubt on whether other Premier League clubs could do the same.

Applauding Thursday’s vote, which passed by a narrow margin, Mourinho said: “As the head coach of Manchester United, obviously, I am in favour of that because I focus just on the training process.

“Day one, I want to have my squad, my players. I want to work and travel with them in pre-season. I don’t want to be waiting for late decisions. But there is another perspective, and I have to share the problems the board has, and that is that, obviously, when the decision is not uniform around Europe, and all the championships, then we are opening a disadvantage for the English clubs. That was the reason Manchester United voted against.

“The market will be closed for us and is open for others and they can come to the English clubs, buy players, and they can leave English clubs without the possibility of a big action, so it’s another element of weakness. If you ask me about Manchester United, I hope we are strong and powerful enough. We also close our doors and say, ‘The offer doesn’t matter. We close the market for buying, for selling.’

“I expect my club to be acting that way, but there are other English clubs that will be in risk.

“I hope that it goes to the perfect situation, which is to close for every championship and not just the Premier League.”