Former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho
Former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho has issued a fiery response to Pep Guardiola after the Manchester City boss reminded fans that he has won twice as many Premier League titles than the Portuguese manager.
Guardiola, who had come under increasing pressure following City's six-game run without a win, made the comment after his side's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday. The 53-year-old was spotted raising six fingers to the Anfield crowd in reference to the number of top-flight titles he has won.
The image brought back memories of Mourinho when he held up three fingers to the Chelsea and Tottenham fans while he was in charge of Manchester United in 2018. Mourinho was axed from his post at Old Trafford months later and Guardiola was asked if he could receive the same treatment at City.
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Guardiola said: "I hope not in my case... 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].
"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."
And Mourinho has since fired back at Guardiola in brutal fashion. The former Tottenham, United and Chelsea boss, who is currently at Fenerbahce, said: "Guardiola said something to me yesterday. He won six trophies 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 150 lawsuits."
Mourinho was making reference to the 115 charges that City are facing. City have been charged with breaking financial fair play rules over a nine-year period, which started in 2009 following the Abu Dhabi United Group takeover and went on until 2018.
An independent hearing - which started in September - involving City's changes is expected to end this week but a verdict is not set to be reached until at least spring 2025. If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties.