JOSE MOURINHO: "DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!" FOCUS IS NAPOLI, NOT MCTOMINAY REUNION
Jose Mourinho is ignoring former players like Scott McTominay, insisting his only concern is Benfica's must-win Champions League match against Italian champions Napoli.
Jose Mourinho says his only concern is the game itself. He won't be thinking about seeing his old player, Scott McTominay, when Benfica plays Napoli.
Mourinho's return to Benfica hasn't been all smooth sailing since he took over from Bruno Lage last September.
His team is currently third in the league, eight points behind Porto and three behind Sporting, after their draw last Friday.
In the Champions League, Benfica is in a tough spot, sitting near the bottom of their group after only winning one of their first five games.
Mourinho wants to see a change tonight, but they'll have to play their best to beat Napoli, the current Italian league champions.
Napoli will be missing Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku due to injuries at Benfica’s stadium. Mourinho used to manage both when he was at Chelsea, and decided to let them leave.
McTominay, who Mourinho gave his debut at Manchester United, is ready to play for Napoli. He'll definitely want to keep up his good form against his former manager.
When asked if he was looking forward to seeing McTominay and Leonardo Spinazzola, whom he coached at Roma, Mourinho told reporters, Those nice things happen before and after the game. Nothing more.
During the match, I'm not focused on that.
We need to win against a very good team, and it's going to be tough.
We'll do everything we can to get the result we want.
Mourinho dismissed the idea that Napoli might struggle without De Bruyne and Lukaku.
Injuries? "Don't make me laugh," he said.
It's my missing players that worry me, but I don't want to complain. Not having De Bruyne but having McTominay is the same.
They had to change their setup, and now they might be even better.
Napoli's coach, Antonio Conte, is happy with how his team has responded to their injury problems, with Frank Anguissa, Billy Gilmour, Alex Meret, and Stanislav Lobotka also out.
"Right now, the players are showing they're very responsible," Conte said.
Even if there's a small issue, we'll get through it together.
It's hard to replace players in midfield, but the guys have been willing to do whatever it takes, and the same players from the last game are here.
Conte still sees Mourinho as a winner and is excited to compete against him.
It's always great to play against Jose Mourinho's teams, Conte added.
He's a coach who wins, and everyone knows who he is.
It will be good to see him.
ARSENAL POCKET INSANE £125.18M FOLLOWING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL QUALIFICATION
Mikel Arteta's side has added £15.97m to their cash reserves, eclipsing the total earned by current champions PSG last year.
Arsenal have added another £15.97 million to their UEFA prize money haul after securing a spot in the Champions League final with a win against Atletico Madrid. They are set to face either Bayern Munich or the current champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Budapest on May 30, aiming for their first-ever triumph in this prestigious competition.
Beyond that, there’s an additional £5.61 million up for grabs in Hungary later this month. But up to now, Arsenal have amassed an eye-watering £125.18 million in Champions League prize money this season alone. A place in next season’s European Super Cup also carries a potential reward of around £3.45 million. It’s been a remarkable European run under Mikel Arteta, with the team dominating the group stage by winning all eight matches.
From the very beginning, the club benefited from the initial distribution of TV revenue and the rankings pool, which together amounted to £49.6 million. Even before the knockout rounds kicked off, Arsenal had already secured £85.3 million in prize money.
That total doesn’t even cover the bonuses linked to their on-field success, as each of their eight victories in the group stage brought in roughly £15.8 million altogether.
By finishing first out of 36 group-phase clubs, Arsenal earned an extra £8.6 million, and progressing straight to the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams secured them another £11.3 million.
They continued their strong run by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 win at the Emirates, which added £10.8 million more to their earnings.
Overcoming Sporting CP in the quarter-finals also brought a £10.8 million bonus. While Arsenal’s motivation isn’t just financial, this level of income certainly aids in meeting profit and sustainability rules and other financial fair play criteria.
It’s also likely to support their summer transfer budget, as sporting director Andrea Berta looks to build on Arteta’s squad.
Last season, Arsenal took home £98.63 million after reaching the semi-finals before falling to PSG.
PSG, who went on to win the title, collected about £124.62 million last year, so Arsenal have now already surpassed that figure.
Meanwhile, UEFA has set aside a record £2.13 billion in prize money for the 2025-26 Champions League season, highlighting the competition’s growing financial stakes.
JAN OBLAK CONFESSES ATLETICO WERE "AFRAID TO PLAY" AGAINST ARSENAL
Following their Champions League exit, skipper Jan Oblak analysed where Atletico went wrong and paid tribute to Griezmann.
Jan Oblak didn’t hold back after Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal. He said straight up that the team just didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the final. Sure, he’s proud of how far the squad has come recently, but the way they went out still stings.
Oblak was pretty open about where things went wrong, especially after the first leg, when Atletico failed to take an advantage back to London. “I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Honestly, I can’t find the words. We didn’t do enough to be in the final, and it’s just a tough moment. We had our chances to win, but we didn’t take them. All that’s left is to congratulate Arsenal.”
He didn’t stop there, either. Speaking to CBS Golazo, Oblak was even more direct about the team’s mentality, especially in the first half of both matches. He felt Atletico were hesitant, too respectful of Arsenal, and afraid to play. Both times, they fell behind before halftime and then tried to play catch-up, but it was always a little too late. “This has happened several times this season,” Oblak said, “and while we’ve managed to win those games before, not today when it mattered most.”
On the flip side, Oblak did give some credit to the young players and the growth the team’s shown, especially after a couple of big summers that saw a huge part of the squad change. “The last two seasons, we’ve switched out something like 15 players. A lot of young guys with not much experience came in. They did great in the cup, and they’ve held up in the Champions League too. In the league, we weren’t good enough for the biggest matches, but I’m proud of how the younger ones are growing. Still, when the goal is to win a title, and you don’t, you can’t call it a success. All we can do is look forward and hope we’ll be fighting for trophies next season.”
Saying goodbye to Antoine Griezmann made this exit even sadder for Oblak and the rest of the squad. Griezmann’s heading to Orlando City this summer, bringing the curtain down on his Champions League career with Atletico. “Everyone’s going to miss Griezi; he’s an incredible player and a great guy. The kind of person who’s always smiling, always positive, and does things on the pitch nobody else can. We’ll miss him a lot; the fans will miss him, but he deserves nothing but the best wherever he goes.”
At 33, Oblak is one of Atletico’s true leaders, right behind Koke for the captain’s armband. Alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente, he’s been a
_1777554856.webp)
