Jose Mourinho brought up Manchester City's financial charges
Jose Mourinho has savaged Pep Guardiola after the Manchester City boss took an unprovoked swipe at his inferior tally of Premier League titles.
Guardiola drew comparions with long-time Mourinho by putting six fingers up towards goading Liverpool fans during City's woeful 2-0 defeat at Anfield last weekend. Mourinho infamously used three fingers to represent his amount of league titles, all of which he won with Chelsea, back when he was in charge of Manchester United and enduring a dreadful run of results.
The City manager was asked about the comparison earlier this week, with the reporter suggesting that Mourinho's 'three for me' remark in 2018 marked the beginning of the end for him at United. "I hope not in my case," Guardiola, whose side won their first game in eight on Wednesday, replied. "He won three, I won six.. but we are the same like that.
"We are together in the those situations. To make our fans know that we are much, much better than the people that sing that [Liverpool fans singing sacked in the morning].
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"It [the gesture] was just to make our fans feel that what we have done is extraordinary. I want to prove that we are an incredible football club. Sooner or later it's going to be the end but I will try to extend as much as possible for the best of my club."
Mourinho has responded fashion in typically brutal fashion. Now in charge of Turkish giants Fenerbahce, the ex-Chelsea, United and Tottenham boss said: "Guardiola said something to me. He won three titles and I won three, but I won fairly and cleanly. If I lost, I want to congratulate my opponent because he was better than me. I don't want to win by dealing with 115 lawsuits."
Who's the greater manager - Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho? Have your say in the comments section.
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Mourinho was referencing the 115 financial charges levelled at City by the Premier League. The four-in-a-row champions deny the allegations, with a verdict not expected until late 2025.
The savage dig follows a joke made by Liverpool boss Arne Slot, who also brought up City's charges when discussing the future of out-of-contract star Mo Salah. "Maybe Mo knows more about the 115 accusations, so he expects them not to be in the Premier League next season," Slot said. "It was a joke - I repeat, it was a joke," he hastily added.
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