Mourinho hails Juventus ambition in apparent dig at Manchester United board

Jose Mourinho appeared to aim a dig at Manchester United’s hierarchy by praising the ambition and amount of investment at Juventus.

United were outclassed 1-0 by Juve in the Champions League on Tuesday, extending a poor run of form for Mourinho’s men.

The Portuguese has overseen a run of one win in seven games in all competitions, with the Red Devils 10th in the Premier League ahead of Sunday’s home game against Everton.

Mourinho, whose side finished second to runaway champions Manchester City last term, reportedly has a frosty relationship with United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

United are said to be aiming to appoint a director of football having made only three signings in the previous transfer window with Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant arriving.

And Mourinho appeared to hit out at the club’s board over a lack of spending as he highlighted additions made by Juve, including former Old Trafford star Cristiano Ronaldo.

“I am not going to discuss with you the way that I think Manchester United should be organised,” Mourinho said to reporters. “One thing is to compliment Juventus, but it’s another to give my opinion on how Manchester United should or shouldn’t be organised at that level.

“But for me, the biggest compliment to Juventus is not even about their structure. My compliment is about the philosophy and the basic things behind the philosophy.

“In the tunnel, before the game, I was speaking with Mr Agnelli [Juve chairman Andrea Agnelli] and I was telling him, ‘Since I left Inter, you have seven titles in a row and it looks like the eighth is coming.’ And he told me: ‘I don’t want the eighth. I want 10 in a row.’ I think that’s a fantastic answer and a fantastic statement.

“They have won seven in a row, but they bought Cristiano and [Leonardo] Bonucci and [Emre] Can and [Joao] Cancelo.”

Here’s to @SerieA games unbeaten! #EmpoliJuve #FinoAllaFine #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/baf5HhmvvQ

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) October 27, 2018

Juve are targeting a Champions League crown to add to their domestic dominance, coach Massimiliano Allegri having won Serie A and Coppa Italia doubles in each of his four seasons in charge.

“They always want more and more and more,” Mourinho added of the Serie A giants. “I think the objective of the club is happiness related to football results and they are going to chase that treble.

“If it is not this year, they are going to chase it next year. If it is not next year, they are going to chase it in the other years. To be honest, I don’t know the structure of how Juventus is run, but I like the philosophy behind their work.

“My belief is that you [the media] did not take me seriously when I said that the second position was a phenomenal position for us and that this season was going to be difficult.

“You did not take me seriously. You did not look to my experience and knowledge in football. In football now, every team is getting really powerful and is ready to invest millions. From my perspective, I have just to work. I am a coach and I do the best work I can do.”