CHELSEA ARE THE GREATEST
“Chelsea as a football club and a brand is more dynamic, more relevant. We're expected to do things a bit different and that's part of the DNA of Chelsea, being based in one of the top three cities in the world, which is another difference from Manchester.
“It's not a criticism of United, it's in the context of where we differ. They are built around heritage. And if you look at their record of eight Premiership titles, two Doubles and the Treble in 1999, they've set the benchmark for every other English club.
“Chelsea didn't have a tragedy, they didn't have 10 years of unbelievable success in the 60s which culminated in winning the European Cup. It didn't have the domination and success of the Fergie years. It hadn't got any of those. It didn't have an old boys' network.
“We're very different — but things like Sunday bring us together. We are not saying we have overtaken United yet.
“But the growth of our fanbase is quicker than other football clubs and our revenue has grown dramatically and is now on a par with United. By 2014 we want to be internationally recognised as No 1.”
And on Mourinho:
“Where else is he going to go? He's young, so there's not an age issue, his family like it here and he has got resources here.
“Everyone in the world thinks English football is the best so why would he want to go? I don't think he does and why would we want him to go? And I can assure you we don't.
“I was integrally involved in getting Jose here and I think what brought him here was the vision. It was coming to England to ply his trade in the best league, and the excitement of joining a club that was about creating a heritage — and he thrives in those environments.
“Chelsea and Jose are both important to each other. He is a critical part of Chelsea and I think Chelsea gives him what he is looking for in terms of fulfilling his football ambitions, which are enormous.
“He is the sort of person who doesn't relax and doesn't see that winning the Premiership twice is enough.
“We've built the fabric of the training ground and he's integrally involved in the academy structure which will represent one of the best youth development centres in Europe. He is at the heart of it.
“From my early conversations with the owner about developing where we wanted to be, one of the key components was putting the staff in place to give us continuity.
“If you look at the history of the Premier League, the two most successful clubs — and hopefully the third — have got continuity of managers.
“That can't be luck can it? He can do everything and still have longevity with Chelsea.”