Call me vain, says Mourinho
-
Jose Mourinho showed when he declared himself a "special one" on the day he arrived at Chelsea that he does not underestimate his own importance, and he has confirmed that by saying he makes an "enormous contribution"
"There are managers who, at first sight, earn little but in reality earn too much because they don't produce," he said. "Call me vain, but I produce because there are titles.
Chelsea were hardly giving away tickets before Mourinho took over but the former Porto coach's success has bred greater income and his considerable personal marketability, including advertisement work.
Mourinho, whose total annual earnings are estimated at £7.5m, told the Portuguese magazine Maxima. "For clubs to pay me and the players well, they have to generate an income.
A claim by Mourinho in the interview that Chelsea are almost self-sufficient seemed hard to square with the enormous financial underwriting of the club's owner Roman Abramovich and a £140m loss for the year ending June 2005.
Chelsea's chief executive, Peter Kenyon, has said the club hope to break even by 2009-10. "If we took away two or three multimillion-pound signings from the budget, the club would run itself," said Mourinho. That, though, would leave the manager with a squad unlikely to achieve his or Abramovich's ambitions.
Andriy Shevchenko's signing this summer was part of a plan to lift Chelsea on to a higher level, and the striker is confident he will come good. I am not worried at all at this stage. It is normal that it takes a while for a new player to get used to a new team and a new style of football. -
Ok Mourinho, you're vain. Happy now?
-
His lack of humility is the reason why I detest him and unfortunately the team that he is managing.
If he can bring Leyton Orient up to EPL, he is entitled to spout all those rubbish he wants. He is competent but not special.