'I won fair and square': Jose Mourinho gives savage response to Pep Guardiola's title boast with FFP dig
José Mourinho has responded emphatically to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola made headlines when raised six fingers towards Liverpool fans to remind them how many Premier League titles they had won.
Mourinho He made a similar gesture during the final days of his tenure at Manchester United, as he raised three fingers towards Chelsea and Tottenham fans.
With United sacking Mourinho shortly after the gesture, Guardiola was asked after Liverpool's defeat if he felt he would suffer a similar fate to the Portuguese manager.
“I hope not in my case… He won three, I won six… but we are equal,” Guardiola said.
Guardiola added that the gesture “was just to make our fans feel that what we have done is extraordinary” and to “show that we are an incredible football club.”
Mourinho caught wind of Guardiola's comments in Istanbul and, as expected, the Fenerbahce coach was only too happy to respond.
“Guardiola said something yesterday,” Mourinho said.
“He won six trophies and I won three, but I won fair and square.
“If I lose, 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 referring to 115 charges lawsuit brought against Manchester City by the Premier League in relation to alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
His alleged breaches, between 2009 and 2018, coincided with the club's rise to become the dominant force in English football.
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City won the Premier League three times during that period: in 2012, 2014 and 2018.
The club denies all charges and a result is not expected until 2025 at the earliest.
Fortunately for Guardiola, the pressure has eased somewhat after Liverpool's defeat, as City won again against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
Goals from Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku ended City's seven-match winless streak as they beat Forest 3-0.
However, Guardiola faces a major battle if he is to lead City to a seventh Premier League title with league leaders Liverpool nine points clear.
City will look to build on their momentum when they take on lowly Crystal Palace on Saturday.
