Manchester United's manager Jose Mourinho has finally opened up on the imminent world-record transfer of Neymar Jr. which he described as a commercial decision despite the player being one of the best in the world.
Speaking first to the club's official TV channel MUTV and then sharing his views with other reporters, Mourinho pondered about Nemanja Matic's first outing as a Red, his squad, about him expecting one more player to join the club before the transfer window closes, besides the Neymar transfer saga.
Talking about the impact of a positive preseason, Mourinho said that he was especially happy for younger players who got significant game time that helped in their overall evolution. "Everybody played, we tried many different things and didn't care about the results – we cared about our evolution."
The boss also added how important it was in modern football to have a big squad.
"The plan is not to have a good team, but a good squad, with options.
"We have important players injured for a long time and they will be back by the end of the year, so our squad is not so big."
He said he was thankful to the club for getting him the players he had wanted.
"The squad is good and as I said a few months ago, I was hoping for four players to improve the squad.
"The club did a fantastic job by getting three of them, which is very difficult in the crazy market we're in now. I thank the club. I'll be happier if they give me four of four but they did a great effort."
On Nemanja Matic's first match as a United player, he said: "I see Matic as a player of my ideas, the way I think.
"The way he plays, he uses his brain but of course he needs physicality to be on top of his game. So he needs time but his experience, intelligence and genius in the way he thinks about football will help him to be ready sooner rather than later."
Finally, speaking on the Neymar transfer saga, he said Neymar is "not expensive" though his numbers showed the other side of the picture.
"When we paid that amount for Paul Pogba, I said he was not expensive. Expensive are the ones who get to a certain level without a certain quality. I don't think he's expensive for £200million, I think he's expensive because now we'll have more players of £60million, £80million or £100million."
However, the boss was quick to add that the problem is not the player but the consequences. "Neymar is one of the best players in the world. Commercially he's very strong and, for sure, Paris Saint-Germain thought about it. So I think the problem is not Neymar, it's the consequences afterwards."
