Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has taken aim at Manchester City by suggesting that only teams who don't 'respect Financial Fair Play' would be able to sign Barcelona icon Lionel Messi.
Messi sent the football world into meltdown for a whirlwind two-week period after he informed Barcelona that he wanted to walk away from the club for nothing following the conclusion of the season.
City were immediately placed as the odds-on favourites to sign the six-time Ballon d'Or winner but those dreams were soon ended when Messi announced he would be staying at the Camp Nou after all, in order to avoid a legal dispute with Barca.
A deal to sign Messi would likely have cost an astronomical amount of money - even if he did arrive on a free transfer - as he is one of the highest paid footballers in the world.
FFP regulations have been slackened this season to help clubs cope with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic but any deal would have likely still strained the rules.
City have had their problems with FFP after UEFA attempted to ban them from European competition for two years for alleged breaches of the regulations, but it was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Despite City's successful appeal, Mourinho has decided to take another not-so-subtle dig at the club following their recent links to signing Messi.
"For my Top Eleven team? No, not for Tottenham. Just for Top Eleven," he told JOE.
"We respect Financial Fair Play at Tottenham. He can only go to a team that doesn't respect Financial Fair Play, so it's not Tottenham, for sure."
It's not the first time that Mourinho has been critical of City as he previously labeled CAS' decision to fine the Blues £9million for failing to cooperate with UEFA officials as 'disgraceful.'
“In the case, it's a disgraceful decision because if City are not guilty of it then you are not punished with £10m," he added.
