Shevchenko 'spoilt' at AC Milan

Mourinho (right) says he never had a personal problem with Shevchenko

Jose Mourinho believes Andriy Shevchenko failed at Chelsea because he was too used to being treated like a prince at AC Milan.

Mourinho also claims the Ukrainian was not his first choice signing when Chelsea manger but was "given to him as a second option" by the club in 2006.

He said: "He was like a prince in Milan and at Chelsea our philosophy was different, we had no princes.

"Everybody needs to work like everybody else and prove he deserves to play."

Shevchenko completed a move back to AC Milan on Monday after spending two fruitless seasons at Stamford Bridge following a club record £30m transfer from Italy.

606: DEBATE Why do you think Shevchenko failed at Chelsea?

Mourinho, now coach at Inter Milan, will come up against his former player in this season's Milan derbies, but scotched the long-rumoured tales of a rift between himself and Chelsea's record signing.

"The truth is I never had a single personal problem with him and I wish him well for the future," he told Ford’s FeelFootball.com website.

"I believe in the future he will again be a player of high quality."

Shevchenko, 31, appears to bear no grudges against Mourinho.

"I hope he does well at Inter like he has done elsewhere," he said. "He's a coach who knows what he wants."