Jose Mourinho's jab at rivals: 'I hope they can pay'

Fenerbahçe manager Jose Mourinho made statements to the club's channel, FB TV. The experienced coach provided information regarding the transfer window and new season preparations.

Here are Jose Mourinho's statements:

"I AM VERY HAPPY WITH THE FIRST WEEK"

It has been a training camp where my players gave their all. It wasn't an easy week because the first week is always difficult. We held two training sessions a day. Everyone did their best, staying very focused on our work. We tried to focus on our training there, rather than the match we played on Saturday. It is not easy to play such a friendly match because the players were already tired from the work we had done throughout the week, but it was a good opportunity for me to get to know my players. Likewise, it was a good opportunity for them to get to know me. We had many missing players, but this was also an opportunity for me because I had the chance to see the young players I have. At the same time, I can say it went well for me to understand the level of our club's organization. There were no mistakes throughout the week. Everything went very well and in an organized manner. For this reason, I am very happy with the first week we have had.

WE MUST BE SMART, NOT EMOTIONAL

Of course, the players we have on hand right now are a different matter for us. It will be a different situation after the players who will join our team next week arrive. After the European Championship ends, the situation will be different for us. There are many young players in the squad we are working with right now. Probably many of them will not be in the A-Team when the season preparations are over, but I am happy to be working with them and preparing them for the future. Of course, there will be players leaving our team during this preparation period, and we also have players with their national teams. Apart from that, we have players on leave like Szymanski, Tadic, and Livakovic. That makes about 8-9 players. This is not easy; it is almost 50% of the team. The challenge we are experiencing right now is the European Championship. I don't have all the players, but we have a quality team remaining from last year. We want to do the right things in the transfer market, at the right moment, and in a smart way. We want to act smartly, not emotionally.

ÇAĞLAR SÖYÜNCÜ TRANSFER

I am very happy. I also thank our president because he was one of the players I wanted to stay. Çağlar also has features that I really like and enjoy as a player. He had previously stated that he wanted to stay. We always want players who want to stay at the club and have commitment to the club to be in our team. In fact, before I came to Fenerbahçe, I was interested in him during my time at Roma and wanted to add him to the team, but it was not possible. He knows what I want, and I know very well what he wants. He loves it here very much and wanted to transfer here permanently. Atletico Madrid had many options, but our club did a really good job. Çağlar also worked very hard to stay here. He will come with us to Austria tomorrow. The camp we will have in Austria is very important for us because we also have many players in the European Championship. He could not participate in the European Championship due to his injury. Therefore, he will start working with us tomorrow. It will be very important for us.

"NO TEAM BECOMES CHAMPION IN THE TRANSFER WINDOW"

For the press, the transfer window is open for 12 months. It is different for clubs, but in the press, the transfer window continues for 12 months. This is actually enjoyable for people, but on the other hand, there are realities. Some teams have already made many transfers, which I think is good for the league. But I hope they can pay the salaries because very high salaries are being paid. I hope they don't have problems with this in the future, which is actually not our problem. We need to look at ourselves, not other teams. We have identified the profiles we need and want. Since the first day I came here, we have been talking about this; we know the profiles we need. That's why I know we will play our first official match very soon. This puts a little pressure on us, but we need to stay calm. We shouldn't act emotionally. We need to bring in the right players with the right deals. We don't need to rush. We don't have a situation where we need to bring in 6, 7, or 8 players anyway. We know our priorities. I am aware that in the eyes of the people, Çağlar was already a Fenerbahçe player, but he wasn't actually. He had come on loan. Therefore, we added him back to our team and gained a good center-back for our team.

Starting from the coming weeks, I estimate that we will add players to our squad who will fit our approach. No team becomes champion in the transfer window. Championships are won in April and May. You can only win a transfer trophy in the transfer season, and such a trophy doesn't exist anyway. We need to stay calm; we know what we want. I am sure that we will do what we want within this period. I don't have time to enjoy what is being talked about in the press during the transfer window right now. I am focused on my work. I know that many lies and truths are written in the press and on the internet. I don't have time to spend quality time with these. I am completely focused on my job. Now we will go to Austria, we will have a camp there. Official matches will start in two weeks. In the second week, Livakovic, Tadic, and Szymanski will join our team. Djiku and Bright have returned and are in a condition to play in the first upcoming friendly match. I think Çağlar Söyüncü will also be in a condition to play in the first friendly match," he stated.

"ONE OF THE NEGATIVE THINGS HERE IS THAT THE FOOD IS TOO GOOD"

I don't know if the cake-cutting culture is a Turkish culture or a culture belonging to the club, but it is one of the beautiful things I see here. I try to work in different places in my career and learn different things from that culture. I like the cake ceremony held here. Actually, it is very nice for the older person to feed the cake to the birthday person – as if feeding a baby. The players are all together, a family environment is created. At the same time, one of the negative things here is that the food is too good. I am someone who normally takes good care of myself; here I need to take twice as good care because the food is really very good.