Jose Mourinho has hit back at Chelsea legend Didier Drogba after suggesting that his Premier League champions lack leadership this season.

The Blues, who sit 15th in the table, have lost seven times in what has proven an erratic defence of their title, prompting Drogba to claim that the current crop are in desperate need of "big characters".

The 37-year-old recently released his autobiography entitled Commitment, and Mourinho feels that his comments are merely linked with a desire to "sell books".

"When you speak because you want to sell books, I don't read. I don't read," the Chelsea boss is quoted as saying by The Mirror.

"I like good interviews. I like interviews from big guys like Didier with good journalists, newspapers or television.

"But this is not an interview. It was to sell books. It doesn't disappoint me. It was just the reality. It was just to sell books. I can analyse Didier's interview with pleasure, but not Didier selling books."

Drogba won four league titles across two spells with the West Londoners, with three of those trophies coming in one of Mourinho's two stints.