Jose Mourinho lashes out at Manuel Pellegrini and takes dig at Arsene Wenger

Jose Mourinho (C) has hit out at both Manuel Pellegrini (L) and Arsene Wenger (R)

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has hit out at rival managers Manuel Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger, according to a report on The Guardian. Mourinho feels that the Manchester City boss is too pre-occupied with him while also arguing that Arsenal has spent as much as, or even more than, Chelsea in the last few years.

The self-proclaimed Special One is no stranger to controversies and has had in run-ins with fellow Premier League managers in the past. With the English football season set to resume with Chelsea’s clash against Arsenal in the Community Shield this Sunday, Mourinho has set the ball rolling with his mind games.

City boss Manuel Pellegrini had said in an interview recently that Mourinho takes all the credit whenever his team wins. When asked whether Manuel Pellegrini was obsessed with him, Mourinho replied: “I don’t know. When a manager is on holidays and even in holidays still thinks about me and speaks about me, I have nothing to say,” according to The Guardian.

“In my holidays, I did zero interviews. You are free of everything, questions, answers, controversy, misinterpretation, overreaction. If other guys use holiday time also for interviews, it’s their problem,” Mourinho added.

The Chelsea boss has often been criticized for referring ‘Pellegrini’ as ‘Pellegrino’, but Mourinho said that he didn’t have anything personal against the Chilean.

“I had a player called Pellegrino there were two in football at the same time, one was Mauricio Pellegrino and Manuel Pellegrini. I always made a mistake by calling one the other. But the last thing would be a lack of respect,” Mourinho said.

Arsenal are genuine title contenders: Mourinho

Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger have never been the best of friends

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has never beaten a side managed by Jose Mourinho in 12 attempts and will be looking to get the better of the Portuguese for the first time as his side battle Chelsea in the Community Shield this Sunday. And Mourinho feels their London rivals have a squad capable of challenging for the Premier League title.

“It’s a fantastic squad; lots and lots of good players, a fantastic goalkeeper. I think they are more than ready to be title contenders,” Mourinho said, as reported by The Guardian.

“We have five teams who will play for the title, only one will win and one of us will be playing Europa League in two years.”

Mourinho also took a jibe at their rival clubs, especially Arsenal, for their recent spending.

“Get a calculator. If you add up the amounts clubs have spent in the last three or four years, I think maybe you will find a surprise,” Mourinho said.

“If you put [Mesut] Özil plus Alexis Sánchez, plus [Calum] Chambers, plus [Mathieu] Debuchy and put Diego Costa plus, Fàbregas plus [Asmir] Begovic; [Morgan] Schneiderlin plus; [Christian] Benteke plus Balotelli plus this one. It is easy and objective.”