City won the Premier League title last season but were then fined in May for breaching Uefa's financial rules.

The Premier League has its own form of financial regulation.

But Mourinho said: "I don't think a team can be champions when you are punished because you didn't comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP)."

City were fined £49m - £32m of which was suspended - and had spending restrictions imposed on them as part of their punishment for breaching FFP regulations.

They were also told their wage bill for the 2014-15 campaign must not exceed last season's total.

Yet City still spent £28m on Swansea striker Wilfried Bony in January, the single biggest outlay by an English club in the winter transfer window.

As well as being prevented from winning their domestic title, Mourinho also believes teams should be docked points for failing to comply with FFP, although he would not specify how many.

The Premier League's financial regulations are not as stringent as Uefa's FFP, but huge losses could be punished by the deduction of points when new rules come into effect after the 2015-16 campaign.

The league's current regulations state that clubs cannot make a loss in excess of £105m across the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

Mourinho, whose side are five points ahead of City at the top of the Premier League, added: "I enjoy the challenge of the English competition.

"It's a good challenge. The only thing that is not nice is that you compete against the ones who don't follow the same rules."

(BBC)