Mourinho earns mockery with money moan, but Man United must spend or Guardiola will leave them in the dust
United boss rightly criticised for suggesting £300 million he has already spent ‘is not enough’, but an overhaul is needed to compete with Manchester City
It is hard not to scoff when Jose Mourinho claims spending nearly £300 million (US$403 million) on new signings is “not enough”, but for Manchester United’s owners that is the stark reality if they want to compete with Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s side are so far ahead in the Premier League table and on the pitch that all Mourinho can do this season is play catch-up and hope to finish second best.
Mourinho has spent £286.3 million on seven signings since taking over from Louis van Gaal in the summer of 2016. In the same time, Guardiola has put down £361.1 million on 17 signings.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager was also able to call upon the world-class duo of David Silva and Sergio Aguero after replacing Manuel Pellegrini, while he has developed Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling to the same level.
Only in goalkeeper David De Gea did Mourinho inherit a player of that standard, while he has since added Paul Pogba for £89 million.
