Mourinho - Silly spending is over

Jose Mourinho has revealed that Chelsea's big-spending days are over as he prepares his side to face Valencia in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The English champions take on the Spaniards in the first leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, but Mourinho dropped a transfer bombshell that again hinted at unhappiness with the club's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

Responding to a question about former transfer target David Villa, who will line-up for Valencia against Chelsea, he declared: "He is a great player and yes, I think he could play in a big team, but Chelsea don't want to sign him. We have got two excellent forwards as things stand. Also, from what I hear about the price, they are asking silly money for him."

Chelsea's Russian owner vetoed any further spending during the January transfer window when Chelsea were struck down by a host of injuries to key players, including captain John Terry.

His decision is understood to have sparked a rift between owner and coach and now Mourinho claims the days of paying "silly" prices for top stars are over.

Mourinho has spent tens of millions to bring successive Barclays Premiership titles to the club since he took charge three years ago. Last summer Chelsea paid £30 million to sign Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko from AC Milan.

But despite shelling out a club record for the prolific forward, he has failed to shine in the Premier League.

Now Mourinho believes Chelsea will never again pay over-inflated prices for players.

He added: "As you see all over the game these days, we hear daft prices mentioned for players. I can tell you that here at Chelsea it is all over - spending silly money."