Working as European gulf starts to show

shouldn’t be organised at that level.

“The biggest compliment to Juventus is not even about their structure. It is about the philosophy and the basic things behind the philosophy.

“In the tunnel before the game I was speaking with Mr Agnelli ( Juventus’s chairman) and I was telling him: ‘Since I left Inter, you have won seven in a row. And it looks like the eighth is coming.’

“He told me: ‘I don’t want the eighth. I want 10 in a row.’ That is a fantastic answer and a fantastic statement.

“So they won seven in a row, but this summer they bought Cristiano and Leonardo Bonucci and Emre Can and Joao Cancelo. They always want more.

“The objective of the club is happiness related to football results. I know they are going to chase that treble.

“If it is not this year, then they are going to chase it next year. If not next year, they will chase it in other years.

“To be honest, I don’t know the inside of Juventus’ structure. But I know very well Mr Agnelli and Mr Nedved and before that, Mr Marotta.

“I like the criteria. I like the philosophy behind that work and that I am very complimentary about them, despite my history as they were my big rivals in Italy.

“People did not take me seriously when I said that second position was a phenomenal effort for us last season and that this season was going to be difficult. “You did not look to my experience and knowledge in football.

“Every team is getting really powerful and is ready to invest millions.

“From my perspective, I just have to work like I am going to do now. I go to the pitch and work with the players.

“That is what I can do. To try to improve my players all the time.” As Mourinho prepares his team to take on Everton at Old Trafford this afternoon, it will be Marcus Rashford’s final game before he turns 21 on Wednesday. Handed his debut at 18 by Louis van Gaal, Rashford has grown up in the spotlight at United.

Mourinho thinks he deserves comparison with any current player of a similar age, but he is reluctant to draw comparisons with the last boy wonder at United in Wayne Rooney. “Marcus is not a youngster,” he says. “For some players at 21, that means zero matches in the first team.

“For Marcus, that means a World Cup. It means two seasons of Champions League and a Europa League final. “Comparing him to someone like Rooney is not good. It is not the best thing.

“It’s like comparing somebody with an amazing career and amazing numbers with a young player, where the only similar thing is the start.”