Manchester United have a shocking net spend total of £302million under Jose Mourinho… how can he complain about the board’s ‘lack of backing’?
In terms of net spend, only noisy neighbours Man City have splashed out more than Mourinho... and they're worlds away
JOSE MOURINHO has been enduring a rough pre-season at Manchester United.
As well as disastrous results on the pitch - including a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool - Mourinho has upset players with his negativity.
The Special One bemoaned his lack of options in his squad during the summer despite him having a hugely talented pool of players at his disposal.
Now, Mourinho has suggested he isn't getting the backing he deserves in the transfer market... and apparently the 2-1 smash-and-grab win over Real Madrid changes nothing.
The Portuguese chief claimed: “I would like to have two more players. I think I am not going to have two, it is possible I’m going to have one.
“I gave a list to my club of five names a few months ago and I wait to see if it’s possible to have one of these players.
Man United transfers since summer 2016
IN
FRED - £52m
DIOGO DALOT - £19m
LEE GRANT - £1.5m
ROMELU LUKAKU - £90m
NEMANJA MATIC - £40m
VICTOR LINDELOF - £31m
ALEXIS SANCHEZ - Swap
PAUL POGBA - £89m
HENRIKH MKHITARYAN - £30m
ERIC BAILLY - £30m
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC - Free
TOTAL - £382.5m
OUT
DALEY BLIND - £18.5m
SAM JOHNSTONE - £5m
ADNAN JANUZAJ - £10m
MORGAN SCHNEIDERLIN - £24m
MEMPHIS DEPAY - £15m
PADDY McNAIR - £7m
WILL KEANE - £1m
TOTAL - £80.5m
NET SPEND - +£302m
"The [Real Madrid] match doesn't change anything. My professional players were amazing all pre-season because they know we play against good teams, against good opponents.
"We have just a few players here and lots of kids. I didn't learn anything. The result of the game today is not important."
Despite his talk of "lack of funds", in reality, since Mourinho took over at Old Trafford, United have had the second-highest net spend of the top six Premier League teams.
The Red Devils have splashed out £382.5m since the summer of 2016, while recouping just £80.5m in return, for a net spend of £302m.
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Man City transfers since summer 2016
IN
RIYAD MAHREZ - £60m
AYMERIC LAPORTE - £57m
BENJAMIN MENDY - £49m
KYLE WALKER - £50m
BERNARDO SILVA - £43m
EDERSON - £35m
DANILO - £26.5m
DOUGLAS LUIZ - £14m
JACK HARRISON - £4m
OLARENWAJU KAYODE - £3.5m
JOHN STONES - £47.5m
LEROY SANE - £37m
GABRIEL JESUS - £29m
ILKAY GUNDOGAN - £20.5m
CLAUDIO BRAVO - £17m
NOLITO - £14m
MARLOS MORENO - £5m
GERONIMO RULLI - £4m
OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO - £2m
TOTAL - £518m
OUT
ANGUS GUNN - £13.5m
PABLO MAFFEO - £9m
ANGELINO - £5m
KELECHI IHEANACHO - £25m
ENES UNAL - £12m
WILFRIED BONY - £12m
AARON MOOY - £10m
NOLITO - £8m
FERNANDO - £5.5m
OLIVIER NTCHAM - £4m
ALEKSANDAR KOLAROV - £5m
SAMIR NASRI - £3m
STEVAN JOVETIC - £10m
EDIN DZEKO - £8m
TOTAL - £130m
NET SPEND - +£388m
That tally is beaten only by noisy neighbours Man City with an outrageous tally of £388m - after spending £518m and getting £130m back in sales.
It means United are just one "big signing" - such as Harry Maguire or Sergej Milinkovic-Savic - away from matching City's net spend.
And unless they defy everyone's expectations in the season ahead it is clear they are absolutely, unequivocally NOT one player short or being on City's level... far from it. Last season they finished 19 points behind their nearest rivals.
Fellow local rivals Liverpool have spent massively in the past two seasons, bringing in the world's most expensive defender and goalkeeper.
On top of that, the likes of Mo Salah, Naby Keita and Fabinho has seen Liverpool's spending spree go on and on.
Liverpool transfers since summer 2016
IN
ALISSON - £67m
NABY KEITA - £53m
FABINHO - £40m
XHERDAN SHAQIRI - £13m
VIRGIL VAN DIJK - £75m
MO SALAH - £34m
ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN - £35m
ANDREW ROBERTSON - £10m
DOMINIC SOLANKE - Free
SADIO MANE - £30m
GEORGINIO WIJNALDUM - £25m
LORIS KARIUS - £5m
RAGNAR KLAVAN - £3.5m
JOEL MATIP - Free
TOTAL - £390.5m
OUT
DANNY WARD - £10m
PHILIPPE COUTINHO - £145m
MAMADOU SAKHO - £26m
LUCAS LEIVA - £5m
KEVIN STEWART - £8m
ANDRE WISDOM - £4.5m
CHRISTIAN BENTEKE - £32m
JORDON IBE - £15m
JOE ALLEN - £13m
MARTIN SKRTEL - £5m
TIAGO ILORI - £4m
LUIS ALBERTO - £3m
BRAD SMITH - £6m
TOTAL - £276.5m
NET SPEND - +£114m
Yet despite that, thanks to shrewd sales - most notably Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona, their net spend is way down on United at just £114m.
Chelsea (£168.5m), Arsenal (£161m) and Tottenham (£76m) are all miles behind United in terms of money spent, too.
After all, Mourinho was allowed to splash a then world-record £89m on Paul Pogba, while Romelu Lukaku cost £75m, rising to £90m - to name just two.
Players such as Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly cost over £30m a go... and have failed to nail down a spot in the starting XI.
All the while players like Memphis Depay are being sold for cut-price fees after seeing their stock fall massively while at Old Trafford.
Arsenal transfers since summer 2016
IN
LUCAS TORREIRA - £27m
BERND LENO - £20m
SOKRATIS PAPASTATHOPOULOS - £16m
MATTEO GUENDOUZI - £7m
STEPHAN LICHTSTEINER - Free
PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG - £60m
ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE - £44m
KONSTANTINOS MAVROPANOS - £2m
HENRIKH MKHITARYAN - Swap
SEAD KOLASINAC - Free
GRANIT XHAKA - £38m
SHKODRAN MUSTAFI - £35m
LUCAS PEREZ - £17m
TAKUMA ASANO - £3m
ROB HOLDING - £2.5m
TOTAL - £271.5m
OUT
ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN - £35m
THEO WALCOTT - £20m
OLIVIER GIROUD - £18m
FRANCIS COQUELIN - £10.5m
WOJCIECH SZCZESNY - £10m
GABRIEL PAULISTA - £10m
KIERAN GIBBS - £7m
TOTAL - £110.5m
NET SPEND - +£161m
It would appear the problems at Manchester United are not down to the money being spent - or perceived lack thereof.
Some would argue Jose has failed to get the best out of his stars - who are, remember, amongst the most well-rewarded in the world.
A defensive mindset has alienated fans while his attitude towards his own players has left squad morale dangerously low.
Mourinho can go around pointing fingers all he likes - as he has ever since coming to England with Chelsea in 2004.
Part of the fun of the Portuguese chief was his no-holds-barred approach to the game and the media, but now it's wearing thin.
Chelsea transfers since summer 2016
IN
JORGINHO - £57m
ROB GREEN - Free
ALVARO MORATA - £65m
TIEMOUE BAKAYOKO - £40m
DANNY DRINKWATER - £35m
ANTONIO RUDIGER - £34m
DAVIDE ZAPPACOSTA - £23m
EMERSON - £20m
OLIVIER GIROUD - £18m
ROSS BARKLEY - £15m
ETHAN AMPADU - £2.5m
MICHY BATSHUAYI - £33m
N'GOLO KANTE - £29m
DAVID LUIZ - £32m
MARCOS ALONSO - £23m
TOTAL - £426.5m
OUT
DIEGO COSTA - £60m
NEMANJA MATIC - £40m
NATHAN AKE - £20m
JUAN CUADRADO - £17m
ASMIR BEGOVIC - £10m
BERTRAND TRAORE - £9m
CHRISTIAN ATSU - £6m
NATHANIEL CHALOBAH - £6m
OSCAR - £60m
MO SALAH - £12m
PAPY DJILOBODJI - £8m
PATRICK BAMFORD - £10m
TOTAL - £258m
NET SPEND - +£168.5m
Take a quick look at United's squad and you'll see it's littered with top talent.
David De Gea, Lukaku and Pogba - who was sensational in the World Cup final - would all walk into arguably any starting XI on the planet.
Yet at times, the mercurial former Juventus star has looked little more than a disinterested also-ran.
The intensity, the forward surges, the tracking back... at times they've been utterly non-existent during his two years at Old Trafford.
Tottenham transfers since summer 2016
IN
DAVINSON SANCHEZ - £35m
LUCAS MOURA - £25m
SERGE AURIER - £23m
FERNANDO LLORENTE - £15m
JUAN FOYTH - £8m
PAULO GAZZANIGA - £2m
MOUSSA SISSOKO - £30m
VINCENT JANSSEN - £17m
VICTOR WANYAMA - £11.5m
GEORGES-KEVIN N'KOUDOU - £11m
TOTAL - £177.5m
OUT
KYLE WALKER - £50m
KEVIN WIMMER - £18m
FEDERICO FAZIO - £3m
RYAN MASON - £13m
NACER CHADLI - £13m
ALEX PRITCHARD - £8m
DEANDRE YEDLIN - £5m
TOM CARROLL - £4.5m
TOTAL - £101.5m
NET SPEND - +£76m
Mourinho also has the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata at his disposal.
Yet only Lingard appears to have thrived under Mourinho - with the rest either failing to replicate their top form or failing to play altogether, like Martial.
The players in the squad have the potential to line-up as if they will attack much like Liverpool or City - yet time and time again sit back in a frustratingly tedious manner. Last season they scored 38 fewer goals than Pep Guardiola's side.
Mourinho will almost certainly continue to point fingers and if things go badly this season he'll blame a "lack of funds"... but figures and the football currently on show at Old Trafford just don't add up.