Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has launched a stinging attack on Liverpool, claiming skipper Steven Gerrard is plying his trade at the "wrong club".
The former Chelsea boss says the midfielder will never win anything as long as he's at Anfield.
"Gerrard for me is not in the right club. They have problems. They will not win anything," he told the Daily Mirror.
"I do not know why Gerrard has stayed so long at Liverpool. He is very loyal.
"I watched him against Hungary. The best player on the pitch. I like him a lot. A leader. I admire him."
One player Mourinho does admire is Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole, and he has still not ruled out one day seeing him move to the Bernabeu, possibly alongside Gerrard and Didier Drogba.
“I admire Ashley, who I know well. He is a quick, clever defender. He has everything I like. He can attack, he can come back, he can push up, he has great position on and off the ball," he explained.
“Didier, Cole and Gerrard are great players. They would be even better here at Madrid because I am here and they would have more freedom on the pitch.
“So I won’t say I am not interested. They would be welcome here.
“We will see. I don’t make promises I can’t keep, but I will try to get the best players for Real Madrid.
“I have players in my head who I want. The board have given me permission to come up with players I need to make the club great again. But I have to be realistic – I have to consider the price.
“We are not shopping in a supermarket for groceries like Barcelona. I only want players who are great players or players I can make great."
As for making a possible return to Chelsea one day, the 'Special One' is keeping his options open and refusing to rule anything out.
He said: “I am careful what I say and what I think. For me it might be impossible. I don’t know. I am not saying I would not like to.
“Who knows? Football is strange and beautiful at the same time."
Meanwhile, the Portuguese feels that Paul Scholes not being in the England team is the kind of egregious situation that could only happen in England.
“Scholes? Fantastic. For me, why isn’t he playing for England?" he said.
“It is crazy. Only in England. Scholes is a great, great player. So experienced and still, for me, one of the best in the world in midfield. Manchester United are lucky to have him."
The midfielder is a key part of the way in which United play, a style not always suitable for European competition, he feels.
"Sir Alex is a great man, a great manager with a lot of respect from everybody," he insisted.
“They play the English way, hard and physical. Europe is different. Tactics, strategy, the players you have, the players you pick, it is very different to domestic club football.
“Manchester is a club who are proud and perhaps look at winning the League title as more important than anything else.
“To be a truly great club, you have to win all the trophies..all the European trophies. That shows that you are the best, you know how to win at all levels.
"For English clubs, it is more difficult to change their systems. But for me Manchester (United) is a great club. I don’t think their style can change for Europe."
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