• Champions League

Matic signing shows I've improved Chelsea's transfer business - Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has said he would not have sold Nemanja Matic if he was Chelsea manager at the time of his transfer, but stated the club will not have to pay millions for a player previously on their books again.

Matic, 26, was signed by Chelsea from Kosice in 2009 but, having failed to make a Premier League start for the club, was loaned to Vitesse Arnhem before being sold to Benfica in 2011 as David Luiz headed in the other direction.

Mourinho, who returned to Chelsea as manager in 2013 after leaving in 2007, sought to bolster his midfield in January 2014 and re-signed Matic for a fee of £21 million.

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Mourinho said: "The club had Matic here, but in a deal he left. So I don't think it's fair to be critical. Now I brought also a little of my experience, not just experience as a coach also my experience at business level.

"It is good for the father club to be protected because at these ages the evolution of the players is sometimes good and sometimes bad. It is important to keep control of the situation.

"Chelsea were brave in bringing him back. We wanted a midfield player, we had three or four on the table, but the best one was a player that I don't say Chelsea lost, but a player that was involved in a deal - so Chelsea were brave to say if we are sure that he is the right one, no criticism will be stronger than that.

"Probably in the future if Chelsea does business with a young player, they will keep control. But they had so many managers in those years it was difficult to have a philosophy.

"For one manager Matic would be the right profile of player, for another it is Matic 'you can let him go because I don't like him'. To have a philosophy is much easier for the board."

Matic is set to start against PSG on Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, having missed Chelsea's last two matches due to a domestic suspension.

Mourinho added: "Matic is very important in the balance of our team. Our team was developed with him in that position. Everybody feels comfortable with him there. Kurt Zouma did amazingly well for us in those two games in that position but he is a central defender."

Nemanja Matic would never have left Chelsea if Jose Mourinho had been in charge at the time of his sale, according to the Portuguese manager © Getty Images

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