Jose Mourinho: Didier Drogba’s criticism irrelevant, he’s only pushing his book

The Ivorian, who won four Premier League titles at Stamford Bridge, said the club no longer possess as many leaders as they used to.

However, Mourinho countered that suggestion by saying Drogba was merely trying to sell his new book.

“When you speak because you want to sell books, I don’t read,” Mourinho said. “I like interviews, I like interviews from big guys like Didier with good journalists or newspapers or television. But this is not an interview. It was to sell books.

“It doesn’t disappoint me, it was just the reality. It was just to sell books. I can analyse Didier’s interview with pleasure, but not Didier selling books.”

The Portuguese manager also found time to censure his own misfiring striker Diego Costa.

Mourinho and Costa were spotted having a touchline row during the midweek Champions League clash against Maccabi Tel Aviv, although the former said afterwards the pair had resolved it with a “kiss and a cuddle”.

Costa started his Chelsea career in scintillating form, but has since found goals hard to come by – with his disputed physical approach landing him in the headlines instead.

“He’s not reading the game properly in these actions,” Mourinho said. “That was my opinion. As a striker he must read; you have to play not when you have the ball, but when others have the ball. You have to anticipate things and read the game faster.

“Everything is an accumulation [of confidence]. You’re not on fire again just because you’ve scored a goal against Norwich. It’s a process.”