Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho believes he saved club owner Roman Abramovich from public scrutiny during his time at Stamford Bridge.

He claimed: "The animosity towards Abramovich was due to the idea he was going to turn Chelsea into a depot of players who came and went just for the sake of spending money.

"My hands were not exactly free to choose my first list of signings. We had to find the right balance to correspond with my idea of success while maintaining a balance between English and foreign players."