Jose Mourinho brutally dismisses Chelsea's Club World Cup win with pre-season comparison
Jose Mourinho has claimed the Club World Cup was "only important for Chelsea" and that watching the tournament reminded him of "every time I went to the United States for pre-season".
The Blues became the first side to win the newly expanded FIFA tournament, which included a host of the world's top sides. Chelsea produced an upset in the final to see off PSG 3-0 despite the French side being heavy favourites after hammering Real Madrid in the semi-finals. En route to the final, Chelsea beat Benfica, Palmeiras and Fluminense.
Enzo Maresca hailed his side's effort and ramped up the importance of the Club World Cup as he said: 'I think it will become as important as the Champions League and we value it as much as winning the Champions League.'
That was despite some of the sport's major teams, Barcelona and Liverpool among them, not being given a chance to participate. And Mourinho, now in charge of Fenerbahce, hinted that the tournament was a little more than a glorified pre-season trip.
The Special One told Canal 11: "This Club World Cup also highlighted a kid who also had a great season at Chelsea, Cole Palmer. But this run to the semi-finals reminded me every time I went to the United States for pre-season with Real Madrid and Inter, it reminded me a little of those games we played there.
"So, I think this Club World Cup title is only important for Chelsea, as they'll sell a lot of jerseys with the logo on there. So, I think PSG was the big winner this season, not because of what they did domestically, because they always win domestically, but winning the Champions League and the way they did, especially with the idea of losing their best player."
The ex-Blues boss made his thoughts clear as he added: "I think this PSG team is the best team of the season." The Parisians claimed the treble under Luis Enrique and secured the biggest winning margin in Champions League final history.
The Club World Cup itself divided opinion. Jurgen Klopp was scathing in his assessment whilst plenty of games were not played in front of capacity crowds. It also included teams like Auckland City, who included a number of part-time players.
Chelsea star Levi Colwill though echoed the thoughts of his manager as he claimed: "This is the biggest trophy I've ever won. I think the Club World Cup will be bigger than the Champions League and we were the first team to win it." The Blues will return to the Champions League this term having finished fourth.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
24 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Inside Viktor Gyokeres' rollercoaster career as former team-mates and bosses tell Arsenal fans what to expect
GYO BACK IN TIME Inside Viktor Gyokeres' rollercoaster career as former team-mates and bosses tell Arsenal fans what to expect VIKTOR GYOKERES is the man Arsenal hope will lead them to the title following his sensational move back to England from Sporting Lisbon. The Swedish striker, 27, has had a roller-coaster career already so far. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 11 Those who know Viktor Gyokeres best have had their say on the in-demand striker Credit: AFP 11 Gyokeres is rumoured to have split with girlfriend Ines Aguiar to give himself a completely fresh start in England Credit: X SunSport has spoken to coaches, managers and players who have seen Gyokeres incredible rise to the top. But do the words of those who know him best paint a picture of someone who can fire Arsenal to their first Premier League title since 2003-04? IFK ASPUDDEN-TELLUS: 2004-2014 Bjorn Thuresson is chairman of the youth club where Gyokeres started age five until he was 16... "We are a lovely, local club and attract players from the area. We do not own our pitches and we do not have any employees. READ MORE SPORT STORIES BOAT OF BOTHER Harry Redknapp left stunned after 50ft boat crashes into garden of mansion "Viktor's father, Stefan, was also his team's trainer the time he was with us. He had good players with him but Viktor the best of the lot. When he turned 16, he moved to IF Brommapojkarna. "We are lucky because we have received solidarity payments. Fifa uses a thing called Clearing House to ensure training clubs receive compensation when young players are transferred to new clubs. "It's for players aged between 12 and 20 so that relates to Viktor's time with us. "We got a little when he went to Brighton and a little more when he went to Coventry. And now we could get a little more. A lot more, actually. So far, we have got over €200,000 (£173,000). CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS "We did not get paid by Brighton or Coventry but we got the money from Fifa. "You see a massive spread sheet and see who gets what. We get roughly one per cent of a transfer fee so if Viktor's transfer fee to Arsenal is the sum we are reading, then it will be a lot (about £800,000). Why Mikel Arteta must deliver best team in London a trophy | Arsenal Exposed "In the past, we have used the money to invest in more equipment and send the players to more camps. It is quite incredible. "Viktor has not visited us since he left but when some of our players go to the national team at youth level, and he sees which club they are from, he goes up to them and says hello. "We are all proud of him." IF BROMMAPOJKARNA: 2014-2017 Peter Kisfaludy was one of his youth coaches before he broke into the first team... "The first time I met Viktor was when he was 11 and we took him to a tournament in Finland on loan from his youth club Aspudden-Tellus. Then, he joined the club at 16. "At 13, he started at a school where I coach in the mornings before the first lessons. I have also coached Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall there. "Viktor was a late bloomer but he has the same goalscoring style he has now and was always like a tank running with a ball. You could also say he is like the Swedish Orient Express. "He has always been a winner. For a long time, his girlfriend was the footballer Amanda Nilden who plays for Spurs. "They went on holiday to Spain and she is really good at table tennis. They also had a game of tennis and she won so they did not speak for two days. "They are both really bad losers. 11 Gyokeres used to date now-Tottenham star Amanda Nilde Credit: @bpfotboll 11 Viktor Gyokeres started his senior career at IF Brommapojkarna Credit: Instagram @viktorgyokeres "It has been so nice to see him progress and he has not changed. This year, I was in Portugal scouting players when there was a massive power outage - along with Spain - and there was no electricity in either country. "The restaurant would not make us food and I could not buy a bottle of water as I also had no cash and the card machines were not working. "I called Vik and he said 'come to me'. I drove 30 minutes and he gave me lunch and gave me 100 Euros to spend in case the card machines were still not working. "I have no doubt he will score many goals for Arsenal. If he scores twice, he will not be happy until he gets a third." ARSENAL TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest rumours from the Emirates 11 Gyokeres' old Brighton boss Chris Hughton didn't believe him to be a natural finisher Credit: Getty BRIGHTON: 2018-2021 Former manager Chris Hughton... "When he was at Brighton, he wasn't somebody that I thought was a natural finisher. He wasn't the type that you think will have one or two chances and he'll put one of them away. But you knew he would always get chances. "You knew he would because he always put himself in a position to get them. "If you asked me then, would I see him as a player that would play at one of the top clubs in the Premier League, then I would have to say probably no, more than yes. "When he went to Coventry, that would have been a decision by the club where they asked themselves if they saw that he was going to be a regular in the first team. Was the development process going to take longer than what they were prepared to wait for? "I watched him quite a few times when he was at Coventry. I was surprised that nobody took him, I must admit. "We all know the bigger Premier League clubs want ready-made players. But certainly, I thought perhaps a club that had come up from the Championship into the Premier League or that group of Premier League clubs that are still fighting for survival might have taken him. "What he's achieved is very much down to him. Going to Coventry and really developing his game, and then even more so abroad. "He was a bright lad. Probably because of where he came from, his English was very good, which I think helped. He was a very mature lad, for a young one. He was a confident lad. I think he had a strong belief in his own abilities. "If you're a No9 going to Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City, one thing you know is you're going to get lots of chances. I don't think it will faze him." 11 TRANSFER NEWS LIVE - KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW 11 Gyokeres impressed St Pauli chiefs as he arrived on loan from Brighton Credit: Getty ST PAULI (loan): 2019-20 Former assistant manager Andre Trulsen... "I had not heard of Viktor when we signed him on loan from Brighton. We were a Bundesliga 2 club. "But he came and joined us at St Pauli and I was very impressed. He was very physical and also knew how to use his attributes. He was eager to get better and worked hard to get more minutes during games. "Before the winter break, he worked really hard to adjust to German football and to play in our system. His efforts paid off and he played more for us in the second half of the season. "Viktor definitely played a part in us avoiding relegation and he gave everything. I could see his potential but as if often the case in football, you could not be sure he would be so successful. "On more than one occasion, we had to tell him to leave the training pitch because he never wanted to stop trying to get better. "I am sure his decision to come to Hamburg and play for St Pauli was helpful for his next step and I am so pleased he has done well in Portugal "Hopefully, he can be a big player for Arsenal and can help them to success." 11 Gyokeres struggled at Swansea but team-mates knew he could be the next Harry Kane Credit: Getty SWANSEA: Oct 2020 - Jan 2021 Former defender Ryan Bennett... "There are big similarities for me between Viktor and Harry Kane. "Viktor did not make many starts for us and was not at Swansea long and he was a bit sluggish although he did have a good mentality and was determined to succeed. "When I was at Norwich, Harry came to us on loan and did not play much so went back to Spurs. Later on, when I played against Spurs and Harry was in the team, it was like defending against a different player. "It was the same with Viktor after he left Swansea. I played against him after he had moved to Coventry and his power had developed, his mindset was different and he was more aggressive. Like Harry, he has turned into a really top player. "Viktor was a nice guy but struggled in Swansea and he could not drive although lived near me and sometimes I drove him to training. "I think it was also tough for him as his girlfriend at the time was a player and they had different schedules." 11 Gyokeres was adored by Coventry fans and team-mates alike Credit: Alamy COVENTRY: January 2021 - July 23 Former manager Mark Robins... "He is a brilliant lad. Good fun. Players loved him. Supporters loved him. "He has such a dry sense of humour. He would sing in the dressing room at that point. We used to sing Sweet Caroline after every victory, regardless. "He was almost robotic. He's metronomic with his timing, with his tempo, with everything that he did. That, in a nutshell, was why he did so well in that relatively short space of time and again, why he's gone on to do other things. "When we first took him on loan in January 2021, he hadn't played for four or five months. But he came in and expected to start the first 10 games but there was no way on this planet that he was in a position to do that. So he needed to be patient. "That's the thing with Vik, he's really focused, driven and in a rush. I remember against Charlton, in an Under-21s game, and he scored two goals and they were incredible. He showed power and pace. "I asked him at the end of that game, 'You ready?' He started to contribute more and started to look more like a player. "Towards the end of the season, you could see his trajectory was starting to go up. Then you could see he'd be a really good catch for the following season. "There was a lot of work that I did during the summer to convince him to come permanently. "He just went on to have two really good seasons. The second season, we just missed out on promotion, unfortunately. That was the only way we were going to keep him. And even then, we may have lost him. "Sporting was a really good move. They had been interested for a long time. "I think that move was already preordained and the decision was made. "He's become one of the most talked-about strikers in Europe over the last 18 months but he deserves everything he gets because of his focus. "At Arsenal, it will be really interesting to see where he goes and what he does." 11 Gyokeres formed a prolific strike partnership with Matt Godden, right Credit: Getty Matt Godden was his strike partner at Coventry... "When he first came in, it was from January onwards, they signed him on loan from Brighton and he struggled a little bit. "But then we signed him permanently that summer because obviously the coaching staff saw something, saw some potential in him. "He came back that summer looking a completely different animal. It looked as though he had just gone away and smashed the gym. He came back an absolute animal and hit the ground running. "From then, we spent two years playing together and scored quite a few goals between us. "Then, he was adamant he was going to get us to the Premier League with his goals but unfortunately we lost on penalties to Luton. "There's a brilliant picture of me and him against Luton (Sep 2022) at Kenilworth Road after he had scored and I've got him by the throat and the emotions are just so high. We were both so determined after a poor result away at Norwich. "The story behind the picture is that there was all this stuff flying around that me and him didn't get along and we were both left out of the starting XI at Norwich, which was rare. "The gaffer left us both out and I remember my wife ringing me on the way home saying 'there's all this stuff flying around social media saying you and Vik have had a fight and you're not getting on'. "Vik was actually in the passenger seat of my car that day when she rang, I was giving him a lift to the airport and I said to my wife, 'Don't believe everything you read because he's sat next to me in the car! Nothing's gone on.' "And the following game we played Luton needing a result because we were struggling. We went 1-0 down and he scored a great goal after showing unbelievable pace. I've got a picture of it where I've got him by the throat. It was just pure emotion. "I play at Charlton now with Luton boys who beat us in the play-off final. "And every one of them say he's the best all-round Championship striker they'd seen or played against. "Sporting was a really clever move for him. He didn't want to go to a Premier League side that was going to struggle or a team that had been relegated into the Championship. "If you're putting chances on his plate and playing to his strengths, he's going to have a real impact, and he's done it in the Champions League so is proven at the top level. "There's no reason why he can't do well in the Premier League for Arsenal."
Daily Mirror
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Ollie Watkins' telling exit comment as Man Utd add Aston Villa star to three-man wishlist
Manchester United have expressed an interest in Ollie Watkins but Aston Villa insist their player isn't for sale, even though the Englishman has made it clear he will not accept a squad role Ollie Watkins has made it clear he will never be one of those players who his "happy to sit on the bench" after Aston Villa rejected an advance from Manchester United to land the striker. The Red Devils are on the lookout for a No 9 and have shortlisted three players with the England international among them. Villa signed Watkins several years ago after he impressed in the Championship and he's since proven himself in the Premier League. Villa, who lost Jhon Duran back in January, have made it known that they have no interest in selling their forward despite interest from those on the red half of Manchester. Watkins will hope to return to the club's first choice striker after a difficult few months to end the season. Ironically it was the loan arrival of Marcus Rashford from United that saw Watkins' playing time suffer as a result. Rashford has since left and joined Barcelona on loan, but it means Watkins will face less competition as things stand. Last term Villa enjoyed a run to the last eight of the Champions League, beating Club Brugge, before running PSG close in the quarter-finals. For that tie Unai Emery opted for Rashford over Watkins - which was not well received. The ex-Brentford striker made it clear that was not a role he wanted. Watkins said last season: "He's the manager at the end of the day and you've got to respect his decision, but I'm not one of those players that's happy to sit on the bench. I was fuming I wasn't playing and I let him know that." Emery also had Marco Asensio as a loanee for the second part of the season, but he and Rashford have since left. Villa are yet to make any major attacking additions this summer and the Spanish manager has rejected the prospect of Watkins leaving with Arsenal keen on him back in January. Emery said: "I don't want (to sell Watkins). It is good news to have offers from other clubs. We want to keep our sporting objective through the players we have in the squad." He also maintained: "Watkins is our striker." United are also thought to have considered moves for PSG's Randal Kolo Muani and Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic. Ruben Amorim though has claimed that he would be happy to go on with his squad as it stands, claiming: "If I start the season with this squad I will be happy."
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Lionel Messi reaction to MLS suspension revealed
Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas has revealed that Lionel Messi is 'extremely upset' over his Major League Soccer suspension for missing the 2025 MLS All-Star Game. Messi and his Inter Miami teammate Jordi Alba were both voted into the All-Star Game but did not take part in any of the events in Austin, Texas this week. The former Barcelona duo did not show for the All-Star skills challenge on Tuesday evening and were missing from the MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday where they would have played against an equivalent select squad from Mexico's LigaMX. MLS rules state that players who miss the All-Star Game without approval from the league are subject to a suspension. On Friday, MLS confirmed that Messi and Alba will serve a one-game ban and are 'unavailable' for Inter Miami's league match against Cincinnati on Saturday night. 'The reaction was as expected, obviously it was not a positive reaction, they want to compete, they want to play games, that's what they're here for – to play and win,' Mas said on Friday. 'They understand the magnitude of tomorrow night's game, so the reaction was exactly as expected out of two competitive players who don't understand the decision, who don't understand why not attending an exhibition match leads directly to a suspension, the rule is what it is, they don't understand it. 'I don't agree with the rule, I have made my thoughts know to the commissioner very plainly. I think it is going to change but that's neither here nor there, but their reaction was as I expected, they were extremely upset both of them. Asked if the decision could impact Messi's future at Inter Miami, Mas replied: 'He's very upset, he's extremely upset, as expected. I'm hopeful it doesn't have an impact long term. More Trending 'Will it have an impact initially in the player's perception on how the league rules work? Absolutely, no doubt.' MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement: 'I know Lionel Messi loves this league. I don't think there's a player – or anyone – who has done more for Major League Soccer than Messi. 'I fully understand, respect, and admire his commitment to Inter Miami, and I respect his decision. 'Unfortunately, we have a long-standing policy regarding participation in the All-Star Game, and we had to enforce it. It was a very difficult decision. That said, we're going to take a hard look at the policy moving forward. I'm committed to working with our players to determine how the rule should evolve.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Ruben Amroim warns Chelsea over Alejandro Garnacho transfer MORE: Cole Palmer tipped for sensational transfer to Man Utd from Chelsea by former coach MORE: Chelsea agree deal for Crystal Palace star after beating eight clubs in transfer race
