By David McDonnell in Houston
Jose Mourinho has insisted Manchester United will not be held to ransom by clubs and pay silly prices for players.
Mourinho wanted to sign Eric Dier this summer, but United refused to meet Tottenham's £60million valuation of the England midfielder.
United have also struggled to reach agreement with Inter Milan over a fee for Ivan Perisic, with the Italian club wanting £49m, some £10m above United's valuation.
Against that backdrop, Mourinho criticised the willingness of clubs to pay exorbitant fees for average players in a grossly inflated transfer market.
“The transfer fees don’t surprise me, really,” said Mourinho. “I keep saying there is big economic power at every club. It allows clubs to say 'no' to say 'pay what I want or you don’t get it'.
“I can imagine City would like to have paid £25m for Kyle, but they were told 'this is the price'.
“The option is to pay or not. I'm used to clubs paying big amounts for big players. Now everybody pays big amounts for good players.
“There is a difference between big players and good players.”
United have already bought Romelu Lukaku from Everton for £75m and Victor Lindelof from Benfica for £30m.
Mourinho identified four targets this summer, with Perisic and Dier making up the quartet of players he wanted.
But the United boss said he is willing to accept just three signings this summer – with Perisic likely to be the third arrival – given the difficulties in the market.
“Everybody knows because I told I would like four players and I’m ready to go from four to three because the market is difficult,” said Mourinho.
“Some clubs think the market is different from others. We're not a club that is ready to pay what the clubs want us to pay, so I’m ready to go from four to three.”
Another player United walked away from was Real Madrid's Alvaro Morata, who has signed for Chelsea for an initial fee of £58m.
United were quoted £70m for Morata and walked away from talks with Real, turning their attention to Lukaku, who they snatched from under Chelsea's noses.
Asked for his view on Chelsea's capture of Morata, Mourinho said: “I’m not interested in what Chelsea does, really.
“We needed a striker and we got a big player, a player that I can compare with what he was a few years ago, because he worked with me for a few months and his development was very good.
“We have a player who is now a top player. You have to prove it at the highest level, he [Lukaku] has to do it for United, in Champions League matches, but he has amazing qualities.
“For Chelsea, it was obvious they were going to sign a striker after the situation with the manager and Diego.”
United face local rivals City on Thursday in Houston in the first Manchester derby outside of the UK, which will see Mourinho and Guardiola go head-to-head again.
“I think it’s very good for both clubs and there's always a little bit of rivalry, a bit of an extra ingredient, but for me it’s a friendly,” said Mourinho.
“I’m not going to jump to celebrate a goal, or cry if we concede, it’s preparation for me.
“The European Super Cup is a match, West Ham [United's first game of the season] is a match.
“But we feel a responsibility to the American people who love soccer, and United fans.
“We couldn’t play City in China last summer, but here the conditions are phenomenal, the organisation is phenomenal.”
On the failure of his rivalry with Guardiola to hit the toxic heights it did when the pair managed Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, Mourinho said: “It was a surprise for the people that were selling our rivalry.
“We worked together for three years [at Barcelona], for three years we were laughing and smiling with victories and crying in defeat, we defended the same club and our relationship was so good.
“After that he became Barcelona manager and I was Real Madrid manager in a very specific moment where one was the top team in Europe and the other was a giant in trouble.
“In a country like Spain it became a fight between two clubs because of the difference and the competition.
“When I came to England I was absolutely sure with the type of competition we have I was sure that was not about United and City, Mourinho and Pep, so I’m sorry if you’re disappointed.”