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Jose Mourinho presided over Chelsea when they were the richest club in Europe and drew on the unlimited funds of owner Roman Abramovich to build a squad capable of taking on the best in Europe.
Now he says that with UEFA's Financial Fair Play crackdown looming, Chelsea have become 'clever sharks' to comply with rules aimed at preventing the unlimited spending that skews the market in favour of the biggest clubs.
And he insists it is Sunday's opponents, Manchester City, who are among the 'economic sharks' whose spendthrift ways he wants punished by Europe's governing body.
Clever sharks: Mourinho says Chelsea have complied with the rules cleverly to prevent any problems from FFP
City spent 450million between Sheik Mansour, from Abu Dhabi's royal family, taking over the club in 2008 and their title win in 2012, repeating the formula employed by Abramovich when he spent hugely in the transfer market to win the league in 2005.
Mourinho was once described as the 'enemy of football' by a UEFA refereeing official, and it was Abramovich's spending that largely prompted UEFA to introduce Financial Fair Play rules. But it is to those same authorities that Mourinho and Chelsea are turning in order to protect the legacy they have created.
'We are a clever shark,' said Mourinho. 'The shark that knows when to attack and how to attack. Chelsea have changed a lot because we know that the Financial Fair Play is going to be put into practice. And, of course, we want UEFA to rule the situation and to find if somebody is not doing the same.'
The reality is that Chelsea have been out-muscled in the transfer market: first by City, who have been able to dominate in recent years when buying the likes of Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Samir Nasri, then by the Qatar-backed Paris St Germain and now by Monaco, who are bankrolled by Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev.
When Chelsea wanted to sign a centre-forward this summer they enquired about Radamel Falcao and Edinson Cavani. Falcao moved to Monaco for 52m when Chelsea refused to meet his buy-out clause at Atletico Madrid, while Cavani moved to Paris St Germain for 50m, with Chelsea bidding 40m.
Meanwhile, City spent 74.6m last summer despite recording losses of 97.9m the season before. Asked if he was surprised by City's spending, given that the new financial rules next season could see teams thrown out of the Champions League, Mourinho said: 'That's a good question but I have no answer. UEFA must have the answer.'
Big account: Manchester City's Manuel Pellegrini spent big in his first summer as manager
Chelsea also spent big this summer with a net outlay of 61m, but they recorded their first profit of 1.4m last year before new rules, which limit losses to 38m across the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, come in.
City seem to have already bust that limit but complex rules mean they will be able to write off some losses — though they still seem unlikely to meet the criteria. Mourinho added: 'I accept the way it is. I come to Chelsea to work a certain philosophy and I'm more than happy with the support from the board and the owner for my team. I'm happy that it is not unlimited spending.'
But the Portuguese also said his use of 'economic sharks' to describe the richest clubs was not intended to be derogatory.
'Football needs sharks,' he explained. 'Sharks is probably not the word. Football needs investment and people who love the game and want to make bigger clubs from smaller clubs.'
Money bags: City were taken over in 2008, and have spent big ever since, winning the league in 2012
Other clubs share Mourinho's concerns that UEFA will not enforce new rules. The governing body are collecting financial results and assessing the figures from the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. Clubs who have lost more than 38m face a range of sanctions from a warning or a fine, to a transfer ban or expulsion from the Champions League.
Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Liverpool have all shown concern that UEFA could go easy on the likes of City.
The authorities have already said clubs will be treated more leniently if they are moving in the right direction and City have halved their losses, meaning they may get a green light to play in next season's Champions League even if they fall outside the published criteria.
Summers15, Guildford, United Kingdom, 1 hour ago
Both teams just bought the league. I don't class either as true champions but disgraces!