Man U fall further behind in EPL title race
Manchester: Jose Mourinho said Tuesday that Manchester United are struggling to compete with Manchester City’s financial might and the sum of nearly £300 million he has spent on transfers is not enough to win the Premier League.
A 2-2 draw Tuesday with Burnley saw Man U lose further ground in the table to Pep Guardiola’s runaway leaders, who are 12 points clear with a game in hand.
Mourinho claimed that United’s illustrious history does not guarantee them – or any similar club – success when faced with City’s huge resources.
“When you say a club ‘like Manchester United’, do you think Milan is not as big as us?” said Mourinho, listing other big European clubs who are struggling domestically.
“There are many big clubs and you say big clubs, I know what is a big club. One thing is a big club and another thing is a big football team that you know is not one of the best teams in the world. We are that.
“Manchester City buy the full-backs for the price of the strikers, so when you speak about big football clubs, you are speaking about the history of the club, not the players,” he added.
Mourinho himself has managed to spend £286 million ($383 million) in his two summers in charge at Old Trafford – although he was adamant that was not enough. “It is not enough, is not enough,” he asserted. “To be a big football team and not a big club, you need to spend more.”
Manchester United needed an injury-time equaliser from substitute Jesse Lingard – who also scored their first – to rescue even a point against Burnley, who had taken a 2-0 first-half lead through Ashley Barnes and Steven Defour.
