Jose Mourinho has fired shots at Barcelona and the other sides that have almost certainly been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League with his latest claims.
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Mourinho has had a longstanding rivalry with both Barca and Juventus, both of whom are on the verge of Champions League elimination as they sit in third position in their respective groups.
The Roma boss has now expressed his disapproval of the rule that teams who finish third in their UCL groups qualify directly for the UEFA Europa League's knockout stages.
When asked if he thinks Real Betis are the favourites to win the Europa League after their 1-1 draw with Roma on Thursday ensured they had already qualified for the next round, the Portuguese tactician could not help but take a swipe at his long-time rivals when answering the question.
"I see them [Betis] as candidates, but the failed sharks of the Champions League will arrive, and they will come in hard," the 59-year-old said, as per Football Italia.
"They shouldn't come but it's the reality. It's going to be fun. The failures of the Champions League."
Roma are currently in third position in Group C in the Europa League, behind Ludogorets and Betis, but will be hoping to go above their Bulgarian counterparts in order to qualify for the play-offs and hopefully make it to the competition's round of 16.
"We want to go through and finish second, but if we finish third, we'll become candidates to retain the Conference League," Mourinho added.
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The ex-Chelsea boss led the club from the Italian capital to their first major European title last season with the UEFA Conference League, when they also made history by becoming the competition's first-ever winners.
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