I’M NO MUG
Jose knows he can’t solve problems with cheque book despite club’s cup cash-in
JOSE MOURINHO says he will not be buying a key ring, T-shirt or mug to commemorate Tottenham reaching a cup final.
But Mourinho admits his side will have to upset the odds against Manchester City because he cannot “solve problems with a chequebook”.
Tottenham invited a huge amount of mickey-taking this week for selling Carabao Cup final merchandise – emblazoned with “Finalists 2020/21” – purely for reachingWembley.
They face an uphill battle to overcome in-form City in the cup final and at the Etihad today.
Mourinho says he could never spend £61million on a defender such as Ruben Dias and knew the ground rules at Tottenham when he took over, but does not blame his club’s merchandising department for trying to cash in on a cup final.
Mourinho said: “I imagine their job is to try and make money, right? If you ask me if am I going to buy anything, I am not going to buy anything.
“If you tell me if you lose the final, what are you going to do with your silver medal … I am going to say, ‘First,
I think I am going to win the final and, secondly, if you want my silver medal I give to you because I don’t want to keep it.
“Pep [Guardiola] and Jurgen [Klopp] are two of the best coaches in the world. They are in two clubs that want to win everything. Pep thought in a certain moment that he needed to spend that money in defenders, he did it. Lucky them, good for them.
“When I came to Tottenham, the club was very honest with me. I knew that I was going to come to a different reality.
“It’s a club not able to resolve problems with a cheque. And the club made the best possible efforts in the summer to improve the team and I’m not complaining.
I just do my work the best I can.”
Mourinho and Guardiola had a bitter rivalry in Spain when they were in charge of Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively but that has not followed them to the Premier League as these days they are on good terms.
Mourinho even shared one heartfelt story. “There are moments in life where we don’t forget things,” said Mourinho. “One of the things I don’t forget was when my father died [in 2017], he [Guardiola] knew how important my dad was to me and made a call.
“When his mum died, I replied the same way. There are things people don’t see, we don’t need to share. I am sharing because I have now the opportunity. I only have good memories of him when we work together.”
It is a big week for Mourinho with a trip to City and a Europa League tie on Thursday with Wolfsberg.After losing to Everton in the FA Cup, the stakes have risen despite reaching the Carabao Cup final.
Tottenham fans are divided on Mourinho not least because of his style of play.
“I want to win with style,” he said.