The Premier League season hasn't even begun yet, and already Jose Mourinho is stirring things up.
As per usual, the Portuguese tactician enjoys playing his fair share of mind games--something that he did while at Real Madrid and Inter, so naturally continues to do so whilst with Chelsea.
The target this time? Manchester United, notably their signing of teenage defender Luke Shaw from Southampton, whose acquisition did raise quite a few eyebrows due to not just the massive fees paid but also his weekly salary.
At just 19 years old, he was purchased for €37.5 million and is now paid a whopping €200,000 per week, making him one of the higher-paid players in the league and the highest-compensated teenager in the world.
Is he really worth it? Mourinho questioned the fees paid for Shaw's signature and his wage packet
Chelsea were apparently involved in a bidding war for him, only to be priced out by his wage demands, and Mourinho was more than happy to express his opinion regarding the young England star and the effect it could have on his more experienced colleagues.
"If we pay to a 19-year-old boy what we were being asked for, to sign Luke Shaw, we are dead. We would have killed our stability with financial fair play, and killed the stability in our dressing room," he noted.
Not good for team morale: Mourinho questioned the wisdom in paying Shaw more than other established players
"Because when you pay that much to a 19-year-old kid - a good player, fantastic player - but when you pay that amount of money, the next day, we would have had players knocking on our door, saying 'How is it possible I play 200 games for this club, won this and that, yet a 19-year-old comes here and gets more money than I get?'"
For his part, new Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal refused to discuss the Chelsea boss's words in a press conference ahead of his team's upcoming International Champions Cup match against Roma.
"I don't have to answer. [To be honest], I don't think I have to discuss things [like this] with the media. It's better to discuss it with Jose," was all he had to say regarding Mourinho's comments.
