Man United's Mourinho: "We made Madrid a fair offer for Morata..."
"Even so we didn't reach an agreement. Madrid are within their rights to put the price they want on the player. I can't criticize Madrid or our directors", said the United boss.
José Mourinho spoke to the media at Manchester United's training camp at UCLA today and looked ahead to tomorrow's friendly against LA Galaxy. The manager was asked about the aborted attempts at signing Álvaro Morata - United's 70 million euro offer fell short of Madrid's 90 million euro asking price. He was also asked how he felt about training just metres away from his former club: "I have asked permission to go over there and they've told me I can go over whenever I like...".
Mourinho on why the Morata deal fell through
Morata's proposed transfer to United: "It's not my position to talk about a player who isn't in my team - and nor about a Real Madrid player. We were interested. That's obvious, it was public knowledge but we didn't reach an economic agreement. It's understandable. Real Madrid are well within their rights to ask whatever fee they want for their players. It's not for us to put a price on a Real Madrid player. I cannot criticize Real Madrid and nor can I criticize the board at United. The directors made an offer which they felt was fair but even so, we didn't reach an agreement".
No bad feeling between Mourinho and Madrid
Strange ambiance training next to Real Madrid: "Training close to Madrid? We knew about it three months ago. If we are here, it's because we don't disturb them and they don't disturb us. A few days ago they came to visit us and I have asked for permission to go over to see them and I've been told I can go whenever I like".
United and Madrid "are giants"
Friendly against Real Madrid on 23rd July: "The friendly game in Santa Clara will be another training session for us. My plan is to change the team every 45 minutes. The European Super Cup though is something different - it's a competition but there's no strangeness for me. It's motivating to play against the European champions. Winning the Europa League is very difficult for a lot of reasons but the real quality is in the Champions League and we'll be playing the first stage in September. So nothing could be better for us than to meet Madrid in the Super Cup to prepare for that. Even though we played in the Europa League last season, we are giants just like Madrid. Taking on Madrid will help us get back to our best level".
