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Mourinho happy at Gallas exit
08/09/2006 16:12 - (SA)
London - Jose Mourinho took a final swipe at former Chelsea defender William Gallas on Friday, insisting he will not shed any tears for the recently departed French international.
Gallas, 28, joined Arsenal last week in part exchange for England full-back Ashley Cole but his arrival at the Emirates stadium was greeted by stinging criticism from his former employers.
Chelsea claimed that Gallas threatened to deliberately get himself sent off or score own goals if he was picked by Jose Mourinho, in retribution for allegedly being denied a move away from Stamford Bridge.
Gallas responded with a fierce attack of his own, accusing the Premiership champions of "lacking class", and although Mourinho was reluctant to escalate the slanging match on Friday, he could not resist a jibe at his former player.
"I don't want to speak about William Gallas," he said. "I don't want to speak about former players and William Gallas is now a former Chelsea player.
"For me, this deal was always about bringing Ashley to the club. Since the season started I never had William Gallas so I cannot even say that this deal lost Chelsea a player. I never had him - he was never a player for us this year."
Mourinho's vaguely conciliatory mood also extended to Arsenal. The London rivals have been at loggerheads ever since Mourinho arrived in English football in 2004, with ugly spats between the Portuguese and his opposite number Arsene Wenger a regular occurrence.
Relations plumbed a new depth last summer when Chelsea were found guilty of 'tapping-up' Cole by meeting him in a London restaurant to discuss a transfer, with hefty Football Association fines subsequently being meted out to Mourinho, Cole and the club.
But Mourinho believes that the clubs have finally settled their differences after successfully negotiating deals for Gallas and Cole, even if the Blues manager stopped short of wishing Wenger luck for the rest of the season.
"The good thing was how Chelsea and Arsenal behaved in negotiating the deal in the last two months," he added. "Everything was very correct: Chelsea fought for the player and Arsenal fought for the best deal for a very important player. I am very happy with that.
"I have no problem with Arsenal. I cannot wish them good luck because we have the same objective as them, which is to win the Premiership. I want us to have all the luck so for that reason I cannot wish any for them. But as far as I am concerned the relationship is positive now."
Cole, meanwhile, used his unveiling as a Chelsea player to defend himself from accusations his move had been motivated by the lure of the west London club's cash.
The 25-year-old penned a four-year contract with Arsenal last summer but he had been unhappy at the club's initial refusal to offer him a significantly more lucrative pay deal.
However, despite taking his wages to around 90,000 pounds a week with his move, he insists that money was not his primary motivation.
"I can look myself in the mirror and know that I am not a greedy person," he said.
- AFP
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