Mourinho taunts Wenger

OPORTO - JOSE Mourinho did not waste time. He taunted Arsene Wenger's lack of Champions League success, just 24 hours after the Arsenal manager criticised Chelsea.

The teams meet in the League Cup final on Sunday.

The verbal war between them has not reached the level of two years ago, when it provoked warnings from the Premier League, a government minister and the police. But the rivalry ahead of the Cardiff meeting is rising to a higher intensity, reported The Telegraph.

Wenger had pointed out, on Monday, the injustice of the financial situation at Stamford Bridge, that permits them to absorb an £80 million (S$240 million) annual loss.

Yesterday, the disparity was clear. The Gunners reported a first-half season loss of just £6.2 million, despite having to finance a new stadium, reported Bloomberg News.

When asked if he would be judged on whether Chelsea win the Champions League this season, Mourinho compared his record with Wenger's.

Mourinho said: 'Many great managers in the world have never won it. The big example is not far from us. Wenger is a top manager in the world.

'He's a big manager in the world of football and he never did it. I did it once. I have that.

'If you judge my Chelsea career on whether I win the Champions League, you have to judge all the other coaches in the Champions League who have never won it. I have nothing to prove to anyone.'

In 1992, Wenger was the coach of the Monaco side that lost to Werder Bremen in the Cup-Winners' Cup final.

Arsenal lost on penalties to Galatasaray in the 1999 Uefa Cup final, before suffering a 1-2 defeat by Barcelona in the final of the Champions League last season.