“Rich or poor, it doesn't matter,” Luiz Felipe Scolari said yesterday. It was an intriguing statement, given that this evening the City of Manchester Stadium hosts the battle of the billionaires: a match between two clubs bonded by lofty ambitions and ludicrous wealth, but divided by their pursuit of a superstar.

The Chelsea manager was explaining that money was not his prime motivation for joining Chelsea, or a factor in his decision to turn down Manchester City four months ago, when they were merely well-off as opposed to stinking rich. “I came to Chelsea not because they were the richest in the world,” he said. “They offered me a fantastic job.”

No regrets in light of City's Middle Eastern takeover? “If I am happy with my house, I don't [envy] other people's houses,” he said.

In May, Thaksin Shinawatra, City's owner at the time, offered Scolari a deal worth £3.9million a year to replace Sven-Göran Eriksson, but on the eve of taking Portugal to Euro 2008, he decided the moment was wrong. “They offered me a good situation, but I was in Portugal and I needed time to think,” Scolari said.

Expert View

Many have no interest in the international game because of the daily extravaganza that is the Premier League

Martin Samuels

• More

• Post a comment

Related Links

• Chelsea plan to show Robinho error of ways

• Hughes hopes Robinho can be like Cantona

• Ferguson dismisses City’s ambitions

“I listened before I came to Chelsea about the big projects they [City] had. They came to Portugal and talked to me about the next three or four years.

“It's very good for England and for football that many clubs have projects to grow and arrive in the top ten in the world. Maybe Manchester City will arrive there.”

Pinching Robinho from Chelsea's grasp was one portent that they could, but Scolari tried to shrug off the significance of the Brazil forward's surprise move from Real Madrid. He did, though, blame the player's advisers for the collapse of the deal. “There were many problems between agents and men outside,” he said.

Scolari backed the board's decision not to enter into a bidding war with City for the player when they gazumped Chelsea's offer late on deadline day. “They offered what they think was correct,” he said. “This is the right philosophy for Chelsea.”

Yet he said that had it been up to him, he would have matched City's price. Asked if they had overpaid for the forward, he returned to a property analogy. “No. He's a very good player. If I have money to buy a fantastic house, I buy it,” he said.

Scolari's midfield is in urgent need of redecoration. Michael Ballack is unavailable today, Michael Essien out for six months with a knee injury, John Obi Mikel is not at full fitness and Joe Cole is questionable after being bloodied by a Croat's elbow on Wednesday. Up front, Didier Drogba is in line to make his first appearance of the season, but Scolari rates his condition at only “60 or 70 per cent”.

The manager said that he would try to solve the situation next week, which means either developing a miracle cure or taking the more practical route of signing a free agent as a stop-gap. Two midfield players eligible to move despite the closed transfer window are Stephen Appiah, the 27-year-old Ghanaian, who left Fenerbahçe in the summer, and Mineiro, a 33-year-old released by Hertha Berlin, who played for Brazil under Scolari.

Before an arrival, there is a likely departure. Chelsea have rejected Steve Clarke's resignation as assistant first-team coach, but he is still expected to become Gianfranco Zola's No2 at West Ham United once compensation has been resolved, with Chelsea demanding £2million. Scolari said that he understood Clarke's decision, but disagreed with it, especially because he would have used his contacts to help the former Chelsea player to land a management job one day.

“Steve is very important for me and Chelsea,” Scolari said. “He is a link between me and the players and me and the staff. Steve wants to fly it alone in the future. I don't agree with him leaving, but I am happy with Steve as a person and a coach.

“I said to Steve on Thursday, ‘I am the man who can open up more opportunities than other coaches. I have friends all over the world.' I said I could help him in the future, maybe I could get him a job somewhere else.”