
Jose
Mourinho says he would sell any player who no longer wanted to play for
Chelsea - even Eden Hazard.
Liverpool's Raheem Sterling was this week told by Brendan Rodgers he will
not leave for any price this summer, whether or not he signs a new contract.
Mourinho did not comment on the specifics of the Sterling case when asked
for his view at his weekly press conference, but he claimed even Hazard -
"the best player in the Premier League" - would have to go if he was
unhappy.
"I don't like players that don't want to play for me and my club, clearly,"
he said. "Every player has a price. It doesn't matter which player.
"If you ask me now, for example, Eden Hazard; we can speak about him because
he's signed a new contract. Do I want him to leave Chelsea? No. If he wants
to leave, if he doesn't want to work with me, if he doesn't want to play for
Chelsea, does Eden Hazard have a price? I think he has a price.
"He's the best player in the Premier League, so I go to the best as an
example.
"I also understand the philosophy of managers and clubs who want to keep the
players at any price, who want just to say, 'there is no price to sell - the
player stays, whatever'. My philosophy is not better than that - it's just
different."
The message from Mourinho was clear: the final decision is his, although he
did hint an exception might be made in the case of Petr Cech should the
long-serving goalkeeper move on in the summer.
Cech has lost his regular place to Thibaut Courtois and has been linked with
several of Chelsea's Premier League rivals, including Arsenal, Liverpool and
Tottenham.
Mourinho vetoed Demba Ba's loan move to Arsenal in the summer of 2013 after
deciding the Gunners were potential title rivals, but he said: "Petr Cech is
not a player - he's an institution.
"Ten years in goal, going through everything he went through, great moments
and sad moments, dying on the pitch.
"Chelsea gave him a lot, but for what he is giving to the club still, he
deserves a special perspective. I think he won the right to be part of a
discussion and a decision."