- Premier League
Mourinho: Mata to have United medical
Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Juan Mata will imminently move to Manchester United, and suggested that Chelsea have taken the decision to sell due to Financial Fair Play.
Mourinho also stated that the sale - believed to be for £37m, although Mourinho refused to confirm - will allow the club to strengthen elsewhere, beginning with the purchase of Mohamed Salah from Basel. Mourinho did state that there were "mixed emotions" about letting a player as important as "Mata" leaving.
"Things are really going in a good direction and I think sooner rather than later things will be finalised," Mourinho said.
Asked why Chelsea had taken such a decision over a player so popular, the manager said it was out of "respect" for him.
Pellegrini rails against Mata move
- Manuel Pellegrini believes the rules of the transfer window need rewriting to prevent prominent players swapping clubs mid-season, as Juan Mata is doing by joining Manchester United from Chelsea.
- He explained: "I think Juan Mata is a very good player. It is a shame he didn't play [more] often this year at Chelsea. I think United [will] buy a very good player. Personally I don't agree that the player can go from one team to another team in the same league at this part of the year but rules are rules and he can change clubs.
- "I think a player that played more than half a season with one club cannot change in the same year. It is my opinion.
- "A club with money can take the best players from the other teams."
"I think this club is a special club, it cares with people, and is respectful with the players, especially with the players that wrote the history with the club, and Juan is one of these cases.
"I think, and I still think, he could be important for us and of course he's a fantastic player. In spite of not playing for us, especially in the last period, he could be a very important player for us but Juan had this fantastic opportunity for him.
"Another big club wants him, in a country where he loves to be and loves to play, with an offer that is the right offer for us, so in spite of probably many clubs, many boards and many managers think that not a top player to a rival club, specially not to the same country you play, we feel and we think different.
"The player deserves respect, deserves to be happy and play where he wants to play, and because the offer is obviously what we consider the right offer for the quality of the player, we allow him to negotiate with them, and didn't close the door.
"It's a good offer. I don't want to say one more million, one less million, but it's a good offer, respectful to us, respectful to the value of the player that allows to try to bring another player. We need another player, and still have fantastic profit on the investment Chelsea made in the past with Juan, with the two deals, Juan and Kevin de Bruyne, we put ourselves in a very good position in relation to the financial fair play.
"I asked him when the offer come, I asked him are you really happy to go, and he was saying 'yes I am really happy to go', so after that we could feel mixed emotions, because people here we are all happy, but at the same time we are all sad.
"I think with him it was a bit the same, very happy to go from Chelsea to Man United, still in England, still in Premier League, probably with guarantees that he's going to play, and going to be important player for them, and we decided not to stop.
"It's good for Juan, good for the Premier League and the offer, financial terms for us, is the right offer. Football clubs in this offer are not just football clubs. The offer, compared to what the club played two years ago was fantastic."
On Salah, Mourinho confirmed that he has spoken to the player and been told he wants to come to Chelsea, but the "situation is still open".