Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho claims he cannot compete with City due to a lack of funds… here’s five reasons that’s utter rubbish
Despite spending close to £300m, Mourinho believes City spend too much for others to keep up... but he's just missing the point
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Jose Mourinho has blamed a perceived lack of cash to splash in the transfer market for failing to keep pace with Manchester City.
The Old Trafford club slumped to another draw this weekend - 2-2 at the hands of Burnley - to fall 12 points behind Pep Guardiola's side, who also have a game in hand.
But rather than point the finger at himself, Mourinho is adamant he needs more money, despite spending close to £300million since taking over.
Mourinho spectacularly claimed: "We are in the second year of trying to rebuild a football team that is not one of the best teams in the world.
"Manchester City buy full-backs for the price of strikers. When you speak about big football clubs, you are speaking about the history of the club."
When it was pointed out United have spent roughly £300m since Mourinho took charge, the Portuguese boss replied: "OK... it is not enough."
But while moaning Mourinho simply blames money, we take a look at five reasons why his claims are utter nonsense.
1. Average spent per player
ALL in all, Mourinho has got one thing right... Man United have indeed spent less than Man City.
But the actual difference in the past two seasons - since the two bosses both took over at their respective clubs - is minimal... just £74.55m.
In fact, if you take net spend into consideration - total spent minus players sold - City have spent just under £50m more.
During the two seasons thus far, City have signed 13 players to United's six though - with Mourinho spending nearly DOUBLE per player.
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Mourinho has sanctioned signings averaging an astonishing £48.55m per whack - compared to just £28.14m from Guardiola.
That alone proves the Spaniard has bolstered his squads with numerous, slightly cheaper - but still world class - signings.
Therefore, not only does Guardiola have a larger, stronger squad, but also has a squad in his own image - while Mourinho still relies on players from the David Moyes-Louis van Gaal era.
2. Wage-bill
HAVING signed more players, you would certainly expect Man City's wage bill to be much higher than United's.
However, based on the most recent numbers, City's wage bill is only the THIRD highest in the league - with Man United out in front.
Mourinho's men were paid a total of £20m more than Guardiola's for 2016-17, at a combined £264m, compared to City's £244m.
Paul Pogba alone accounts for around £300,000-a-week of United's astronomical wage bill - with David De Gea also breaking the £200,000 per week barrier.
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3. Total spent on a single player
MOURINHO evidently believes he hasn't got the financial clout to compete with City in the transfer market.
But consider this... the Portuguese boss battled all summer last year to land Pogba - spending a then-record £89m to land him.
On top of that, United reportedly paid agent Mino Raiola a further £20m to sweeten the deal.
Mourinho also splashed £75m to bring in Romelu Lukaku from Everton.
Meanwhile, City's biggest purchase was the £49.3m deal to land Benjamin Mendy from Monaco.
While they also splashed in excess of £40m on Kyle Walker, John Stones and Bernardo Silva - they've not once even surpassed £50m, let alone nearly £90m.
4. Minutes played by new signings
SIMPLY put, when you sign new players, you consider them good enough to go straight into the first XI.
At the very least you consider the player to have the potential to break into the starting group.
Of players signed since 2016-17, City have seen 15,685 minutes from their 13 new signings... compared to just 12,594 from United.
While City may have signed twice as many players, cumulatively, Guardiola has gained over 3,000 more minutes from new blood.
All-in-all, that is a bonus and shows Guardiola has been much the wiser boss in the transfer window.
5. Average age
THE age of a footballer isn't the be all and end all, but it clearly plays a vital role.
These days, bosses are forced to spend more to land the best young talent... and City have the edge there too.
Despite the signings of veterans such as Claudio Bravo, the average age of the players signed by Guardiola - on the day of signing - is younger than that of Mourinho.
Thanks to incredible young talents such as Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane, the average age of new buys at City is just 23.5-years-old.
While United's is only slightly higher, at 24.5-years-old on average, it still suggests Guardiola is looking to the future with more success.