Mourinho: It’s about teams, not special ones

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes the focus of football is turning from teams to individuals.

The Blues are seven points clear at the top of the Premier League with eight games remaining and Mourinho is on course to win the title for a third time.

“In this moment football is losing a little bit the concept of the team to focus more on the individual,” Mourinho said. “We are always looking at the individual performance, the individual stat, the player that runs more. Because you run 11km in a game and I run nine you did a better job than I did? Maybe not! Maybe my 9km were more important than your 11.”

Mourinho also says football must be kept in perspective, even if there are times when he uses powers of manipulation for the good of his team.

He added: “I am passionate about football, of course. But for us professionals, if it means everything, we are in trouble.

“How can you compare a football player, a football manager with a scientist, a doctor? You cannot compare.”

Mourinho, though, thinks he is benefiting from experience.

He said: “I think I have a problem, which is I’m getting better at everything related to my job since I started. I feel better and better.

“But there is one point where I cannot change: when I face the media, I am never a hypocrite.”

Meanwhile, the Blues have made a bid for Japan international striker Yoshinori Muto. Japanese news agency Kyodo News says the 22-year-old FC Tokyo player is yet to decide whether to move to Stamford Bridge in the summer. Chelsea signed a £200m sponsorship deal with Japanese tyre manufacturer Yokohama earlier this year.