Jose Mourinho insisted on Friday that new signing Juan Cuadrado was not a “panic buy” as the Chelsea manager resumed relations with the media during a tetchy press conference.
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Mourinho refused to speak to the media before or after Premier League leaders Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City last week because of the Football Association’s decision to ban Diego Costa for stamping in the League Cup semifinal win over Liverpool.
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Costa was banned for three games for a challenge on Liverpool’s Emre Can, with Mourinho saying excessive media scrutiny was behind the suspension.
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The Chelsea manager, who risks a Premier League fine for his self-imposed silence, was evidently still agitated on Friday.
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Indeed, the Portuguese admitted he was only present at the press conference at the club’s Cobham training ground, south of London, because he had to be.
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Recent decisions against Chelsea were indirectly, and sometimes sarcastically, referred to, as was the fact that Arsene Wenger was not punished for pushing Mourinho in Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge last October.
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Meanwhile, Mourinho, whose side will kick-off at strugglers Aston Villa on Saturday with a five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, the reigning champions, pointedly refused to mention Costa by name.
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His sour mood was made evident immediately, when he was asked whether he was excited by the signing of Cuadrado, who arrived from Fiorentina for a reported fee of £23.3 million, as a direct replacement for Andre Schurrle, who joined Wolfsburg.
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“Normal,” Mourinho responded, with a facial expression that didn’t exactly indicate his mood was normal.
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“It’s not a panic buy. It’s a reaction to Schurrle, a departure that is not a panic buy because he (Cuadrado) is a player we’ve known for a long, long time.
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“Schurrle is a player we like very, very much but the business was very good. We are happy with it.”
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