Mourinho: Barca not the benchmark

Jose Mourinho believes that Barcelona are no longer the example to follow after they were dethroned in La Liga and the Champions League.

The Catalans have been seen as the benchmark for an attractive and successful style of play but the Portuguese does not see their model as the one to follow .

“I think the time has come where people start talking less about Barcelona, and that people are no longer trying to make comparisons with them,” Mourinho told France Football.

“Why would people talk about Barca? Real Madrid are Spanish champions, and Chelsea are European champions. Barcelona are neither of the two at the moment.”

The former Porto, Chelsea and Inter boss also had his say on Barca’s style of play, and insisted that he prefers a different football philosophy.

“I love to win things and Barcelona do just that. They have won a lot of titles and will continue to do so in the future,” he said.

“However, I prefer Madrid’s philosophy. We were very efficient last season, and played at an impressive level.

“We played beautiful and spectacular football. I enjoy Madrid’s style of play. The guy who can convince me that there’s one style that’s more attractive than the others has yet to be born.

“Some people enjoy Barcelona’s style and some don’t. I respect their philosophy and have to admit that it’s difficult to play against them. Some teams are just trying to copy what’s seen as the ideal by some. Madrid have their own identity.”

Mourinho then restated his belief that Real star Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win the FIFA Ballon d’Or ahead of Barca’s Lionel Messi.

“Messi and Cristiano are on another level to the rest. Cristiano had no equal, though, last term. He won La Liga and broke numerous records.

“Additionally, he made it to the semi-finals at Euro 2012 with a team that weren’t expected to go that far. If Messi wins, though, I’ll respect that and won’t say a word about it.”