Jose Mourinho aims jibe at Man City when quizzed on Chelsea's 74 charges ahead of Champions League clash with Benfica

The enigmatic tactician is famed for generating headlines with his behaviour on the touchline and in the press room, with Mourinho having no issue with being centre of attention. He is that again at present as an emotional reunion with a former club - one where he previously delivered three Premier League title triumphs - is taken in.

Chelsea have been back in trophy-winning mode of late, savouring Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup triumphs in 2024-25. They have, however, also been stung with 74 charges by the Football Association relating to alleged breaches of regulations concerning dealings with football agents, intermediaries and third party investment in players. Those charges cover a 13-year period from 2009 to 2022, although most relate to the 2010-11 and 2015-16 campaigns - with Mourinho’s last stint with the Blues coming to a close in December 2015.

Chelsea are not the only Premier League side to have fallen under a monetary microscope, with City still waiting to discover their fate in a Financial Fair Play (FFP) saga that involves at least 115 historical charges dating back to 2009. They have always maintained their innocence, but various punishments have been speculated on, ranging from points deductions to expulsion from the English top-flight.

Asked about Chelsea’s supposed misdemeanours ahead of a European fixture in west London, Mourinho quipped back with: “Not Man City? I've no idea. I've no idea about it. I've no idea what the charges are, I will try to understand.”

The outspoken Portuguese added on his strong professional ties to upcoming opponents: “Of course I will always be a blue. I'm part of their history and they are part of mine. I helped them to become a bigger Chelsea and they helped me to become a bigger Jose. When I say I'm not a blue, I'm talking about the job I have to do. There are not many clubs that do these pictures. There is a fear in many clubs about what happened in the past. Sometimes it looks like they want to delete people who made history in the clubs. This shows Chelsea are a big club.”

Mourinho will be locking tactical horns with Enzo Maresca, a man he considers to have done a fine job since inheriting the reins at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2024. He said of the Italian coach, who was one of Pep Guardiola’s assistants at Manchester City before heading out on his own again and guiding Leicester to the Championship title in 2024: “Honestly, I don't know the model. I never studied their model. There was a set period where myself, from the outside, was putting some question marks [on it] because it looked like Chelsea had lost their identity as a club. But what happened in the last season got things back on track. They gave trust to Enzo and gave his ideas. He's fitted in well with the philosophy of the club.”

Chelsea head into their meeting with Benfica having emerged victorious in just one of their last five games in all competitions. That solitary success came against League One side Lincoln in the Carabao Cup. Defeat was suffered against Harry Kane and Bayern Munich in their Champions League opener, before going down in domestic clashes with Manchester United and Brighton.

Benfica are unbeaten in their opening three games under Mourinho, picking up seven points in the Portuguese top tier, with their iconic boss returning to where it all began for him as a manager back in 2000.