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By ZAC CAMPBELL Published: 21: 42 AEST, 23 July 2025 | Updated: 23: 59 AEST, 23 July 2025 15 View comments Jose Mourinho has aimed a thinly-veiled dig at both his former employers Chelsea and current Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola in an explosive interview. Mourinho, 62, is currently the head coach of Turkish Super League side Fenerbahce, who he joined in November last year. Ahead of the 2025-26 season, the Portuguese coach has aimed scathing criticisms at Guardiola and Chelsea. In particular, he appeared to call out Chelsea for what he perceived as focusing on profit by winning the Club World Cup. The Blues put in an impressive performance in the final of the competition to sweep aside Champions League winners PSG in a one-sided 3-0 win. Reflecting on the tournament in an interview with Portuguese TV channel Canal 11, via Abola, Mourinho said: 'Okay, this Club World Cup also highlighted a kid who also had a great season at Chelsea, Cole Palmer. Jose Mourinho has aimed a thinly-veiled dig at his former club Chelsea in a fiery interview He criticised his former employers, implying their Club World Cup win was not an achievement worth his recognition Mourinho won three Premier League titles at Chelsea across two spells from 2004 to 2007 and then 2013 to 2016 'But this run to the semi-finals reminded me every time I went to the US for pre-season with Real Madrid, with Inter, it reminded me of those games we played there. 'So, I think this World Cup title is only important for Chelsea, as they'll sell a lot of jerseys with the logo there'. After selling Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid, Luis Enrique's side were the dominant force in last season's competition, beating Inter 5-0 in the final to win the trophy for the first time in their history. He added: '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. ' He continued with his criticisms by accusing Pep Guardiola of 'dying with his idea' of playing out from the back when he joined Manchester City. He cited the Spaniard's decision to immediately replace England's number one goalkeeper at the time, Joe Hart, with Claudio Bravo and later Ederson. Speaking to Canal 11, via Marca, he said: 'If you die with your idea, you're stupid. Coaches have to adapt their ideas to what they have. ' He accused Guardiola of being too wedded towards a specific tactical blueprint after the Spaniard's move to Man City while Mourinho was at cross-city rivals United Ahead of the 2025-26 season, the Portuguese coach has aimed scathing criticisms at Guardiola 'Playing from the back with a wooden goalkeeper is complicated. I remember Guardiola had Hart, the best English goalkeeper. 'But he wanted Claudio Bravo, but that wasn't enough. So he signed Ederson. '
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