Mourinho: Tottenham had no interest in Messi’s transfer

Tottenham boss, Jose Mourinho, has admitted they had no chance of challenging for Barcelona captain Leo Messi before his decision to stay.

Manchester City were strongly linked with Messi and, having narrowly avoided punishment for Financial Fair Play in recent months, Mourinho saw the opportunity to take a dig at Pep Guardiola’s side.

“[Would I sign Messi] for my Top Eleven team? No, not for Tottenham. Just for Top Eleven,” Mourinho told Joe.co.uk in a promotional video for Top Eleven.

“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.”