Chelsea Coach Jose Mourinho Says Financial Fair Play Helps Traditional Clubs

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho believes his club is "being hit by a 'contradiction' in UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules -- which he claims help the club's rivals," according to the PA. Mourinho "had to balance the Stamford Bridge books over the summer, selling Demba Ba, David Luiz and Romelu Lukaku to fund moves for Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Filipe Luis." Despite having the financial windfalls of Champions League football, Mourinho "was unable to spend as freely as other sides." He "feels more 'traditional' clubs are the beneficiaries of UEFA's imposed financial constraints." Mourinho: "I think Financial Fair Play is a contradiction. When football decided to go for Financial Fair Play it was exactly to put teams in equal conditions to compete. But what happened really with the Financial Fair Play is a big protection to the historical, old, big clubs, which have a financial structure, a commercial structure, everything in place based on historical success for years and years and years" (PA, 12/1).