Manchester United Manager Jose Mourinho has once again accused the La Liga of lacking competition. In the months after he was sacked from Chelsea in December 2015, the Portuguese international was linked with an immediate move to either the La Liga in Spain or Italy’s Serie A with strong rumours connecting him with Valencia. However, Mourinho played a waiting game and landed the job he actually wanted – boss of the Theatre of Dreams.
In conversation with Gazetta dello Sport magazine, Mourinho recalled how, “Before signing for Manchester United, I could’ve gone to Italy or even Spain, as I’ve done in the past, but the Premier League is special.” This is not the first time the ‘Special One’ has praised the English league. Back in 2014, while talking to Rio Ferdinand for BT Sport, Mourinho compared the merits of all the world class leagues in Europe and how none of them had the competitiveness of England.
Mourinho was quite obviously bored by the dominance of his former club, Real Madrid, and their rivals Barcelona. A record league victory with the Madrid giants with 100 points and 121 goals seems to mean very little to the man who craves excitement and conflict. Mourinho is hardly a one-club manager. He prefers to be wherever the best action is and his latest move suggests loud and clear all the action is in the English Premier League.
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The United manager explained what makes the Premier League special, “In some countries, the big clubs always want to be the biggest and outrun the others who get smaller. In England, the opposite occurs. All clubs want to be competitive here.”
Few can argue with his reasoning. No single club has monopolised the top spot or even the top four in a little over a decade. On the other hand, the La Liga has always been a two-horse race. Leicester City is the very embodiment of his claims. The Foxes shattered all expectations by becoming Champions of England last season after barely escaping relegation during the 2014-15 campaign.
Since competition is what he wants, Mourinho can look forward to the task of rebuilding a United team that hasn't yet recovered after losing Sir Alex Ferguson as manager. He seems quite up to the task.He has brought in star players and after dominating and winning their first two league matches, he's off to a great start. He already has a trophy with the Red Devils after beating Leicester City 2-1 for the Community Shield.
