Jose Mourinho has responded to Pep Guardiola’s apparent trophy dig, insisting that the Spaniard’s Premier League title achievements will always carry the shadow of the 115 financial charges facing Manchester City, Soccernet.football reports.
Guardiola, recently jeered by Liverpool fans over City’s struggles, responded by raising six fingers to signify his Premier League titles. When reminded that Mourinho had previously used a similar gesture to highlight his three league titles before being dismissed, Guardiola offered in response;
“I hope that’s not the case for me. But in the end, we are similar in some ways. However, he won three Premier Leagues, and I’ve won six. So, it’s not quite the same, is it?”
Hitting back at Guardiola’s comments, Mourinho referenced the 115 charges against Manchester City for alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations between 2009 and 2018, allegations the club has consistently denied.
“Guardiola said something about me… he won six trophies and I won three, but I won fairly and cleanly,” Turkish outlet Hurriyet quoted Mourinho as saying on Friday, ahead of his team Fenerbahce’s clash with Besiktas.
“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 court cases.”
The former Manchester United manager has previously said that he hopes to add a fourth Premier League medal to his collection if City are stripped of their titles and the Red Devils, who finished second in the 2017/2018 season, are awarded the trophy.
Mourinho’s Fenerbahce occupy second place in the Turkish Super Lig, and are currently on a run of four straight victories ahead of the Istanbul derby with Besiktas on Saturday.