Mourinho ‘happy’ with four-year deal
CHELSEA made a statement of intent on the eve of the season as manager Jose Mourinho signed a new four-year contract. The Portuguese, whose team face Swansea in their opening game today, won the Capital One Cup and Premier League title last season. The new deal ties him to Chelsea until June 2019. The 52-year-old said on the club’s website: ‘If the club is happy, I am happy. I think this is a normal thing for me to sign a new contract. It is important we have this continuity and I hope we can enjoy more success in the future — for the fans, the players and the club. ‘I said when I returned here that I have a special feeling for this club and nothing changed. It is the club closest to my heart and I am very happy to know I will be staying here for a long time.’ The news came as Mourinho (below) was forced to defend Chelsea’s summer transfer business, and admitted there is a risk they will fail to defend their title. Chelsea have opted largely to stick with the squad that sealed the title by eight points, replacing goalkeeper Petr Cech with Asmir Begovic from Stoke City and taking Radamel Falcao on loan. Chelsea head into today’s match without a deputy for left-back Cesar Azpilicueta following Filipe Luis’ return to Atletico Madrid and Mourinho hopes to plug that gap. He is also keen on young Everton centre-back John Stones, although the Goodison Park club want to hang on to the promising 21-year-old. The manager, though, denies the club are in danger of standing still and maintains it is not easy for English clubs to keep the world’s top players out of the clutches
of Real Madrid Barcelona and Bayern Munich. ‘It depends what you mean by going forward,’ said Mourinho. ‘Going forward is also spending £300million. We don’t do that. Chelsea likes very much to be where Chelsea is, the stability. ‘With or without financial fair play, Chelsea is happy to be where Chelsea is.’ ‘Is there a danger of not winning the league? Yes. Five to win the league and only one can win.’ Reflecting on the lack of big names to arrive in the Premier League this season, he added: ‘In a very objective way I think English clubs can buy anyone around the world except the three clubs that are economically more powerful than us.’