“Not that I’m jealous” – Jose Mourinho makes embarrassing false claim over Manchester City spend on first-team star

AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho, has issued a hugely embarrassing inaccuracy in comments to the media this week over Manchester City’s transfer spend on one player.

That player is Kalvin Phillips, who has endured a challenging time at the Etihad Stadium since first joining the club over a year ago, and despite claiming a historic Treble achievement alongside his teammates.

In fact, Phillips has had to wait until this week to secure his first goal for the football club, striking home from the penalty spot in a 2-3 UEFA Champions League win over Crvena zvezda in Belgrade.

That moment is unlikely to sway the England international towards remaining at Manchester City beyond the upcoming January transfer window however, as he hopes to lock down more consistent game time ahead of the European championships.

One manager in the European game has seemingly been triggered by Manchester City’s experiences in working with Kalvin Phillips, as Jose Mourinho lodged a somewhat unprovoked attack on the Etihad club over the 28-year-old.

Speaking to the media this week, as translated and relayed by Fabrizio Romano, legendary Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho has hit out at Manchester City’s transfer spending, and particularly the decision to recruit Kalvin Phillips in 2022.

However, Jose Mourinho has embarrassingly claimed that the transfer fee paid by the reigning Premier League champions for the former Leeds United man was significantly higher than it actually was.

“Not that I’m jealous, but Man City paid €80 million for Kalvin Phillips and now Pep (Guardiola) has said it would be better for him to leave,” Mourinho commented this week.

Unfortunately for Jose Mourinho, Manchester City’s spend on Kalvin Phillips was only around £42 million, potentially rising to £45 million when accounting for the possibility of add-ons installed into the agreement.

He continued, “So he’ll leave and they’ll get someone else. Our reality is very different. It’s not easy for us to sign one player!”

Kalvin Phillips is unlikely to see any increase in his game time over the coming weeks, with Manchester City embarking on a challenging run of Premier League fixtures as well as the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

The Emirates FA Cup third round may present the next opportunity for the Englishman to play, with Huddersfield Town visiting the Etihad Stadium in early January, as Pep Guardiola could look to rotate his squad.