Pep Guardiola has responded following Jose Mourinho’s barbed comments that he won three Premier League titles “fairly and cleanly”.
Manchester City boss Guardiola was compared to the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager after he raised six fingers towards the Liverpool fans, following his side’s recent 2-0 defeat against the Reds, indicating the amount of Premier League trophies he has won to date.
Mourinho – who won three league titles at Stamford Bridge – had similarly held up three fingers to opposing fans during an underwhelming league campaign at Old Trafford, before being sacked in December 2018 after a loss to Liverpool.
“Guardiola said something about me… he won six trophies and I won three, but I won fairly and cleanly,” Turkish outlet Hurriyet quoted Fenerbahce boss Mourinho as saying on Friday, ahead of his side’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.”
Mourinho was alluding to City’s 115 charges over alleged violations of the Premier League’s financial rules ranging from 2009 to 2018, which the club have always denied.
On Friday afternoon, Guardiola was asked about Mourinho’s comments.
“It was a joke. It was a joke,” the Spaniard said.
“He’s another one in a huge list that wants the team to be in… I don’t know, in League One or in the Conference.
“I would say to Jose the same – we are innocent until proven guilty and, after that, we will see what happens. It is what it is. It was completely a joke.
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Guardiola insisted Arne Slot’s ‘Mo Salah’ comment about Man City was a joke and nothing more. He also hopes his comparison to Mourinho’s ‘three titles’ rant does not end in the same way it did for the former Man Utd boss
“With our teams, him with Chelsea, myself with Man City, we can sit at the table with Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, for the many, many titles we have won.
“I’m pretty sure, sooner or later, he will congratulate us.”
He added: “If I have offended him, I’m so sorry. But it was a joke. The fact is he has three, I have six. This is a fact, but the intention was completely fine.
“It’s another one on the huge list in this country and around the world that want us there in the bottom.
“Like I’ve said many times, wait for the sentence. Everyone – especially in a democracy – is innocent until guilt is proven, right?”
