Jose Mourinho has taken aim at his old rival Pep Guardiola, stating that he earned his three Premier League titles "fairly and cleanly" and that he would rather lose than cheat.
The Fenerbahce manager recalled Manchester City's 130 Premier League charges as he took aim at Guardiola, a rival who was in charge of Real Madrid and Barcelona before moving on to Old Trafford and Etihad Stadium.When the Liverpool crowd chanted "sacked in the morning" last week, Guardiola answered by raising six fingers, one for each Premier League title he had won.
It was reminiscent of Mourinho's gesture of raising three fingers in recognition of the three titles he won during his two periods at Chelsea when he was barred from Manchester United.
However, the Portuguese said there is a significant difference between them, saying: "I want to win, but I want to win cleanly and fairly." If I cannot win cleanly, I would rather lose. Guardiola told me something like this yesterday. He won six prizes, whereas I won three, but I won properly and cleanly.
"If I lose, I'd like to applaud my opponent for outperforming me. I do not want to win by dealing with 150 cases.
City has claimed innocence in the claims, which pertain to the period between 2009 and 2018, when Guardiola won his first Premier League title. If City is proven guilty, one of the possible consequences is that they lose some of their titles, whereas Mourinho's United finished second, 19 points behind City, in 2018.
Guardiola has not been accused of anything and has been vocal in City's defense. The challenge brought by the Premier League is currently being heard, with a decision likely next year.


Comments
Post a Comment