Jose Mourinho has issued a scathing response to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola after he reminded supporters that he had won twice as many Premier League titles as the Portuguese boss.
Guardiola made the quip as he answered questions following the Citizens' 2-0 defeat to league leaders Liverpool last weekend - a result that extended the club's winless run in all competitions to seven matches.
The Catalan was the subject of "sacked in the morning" chants from the Anfield faithful, and he reacted by holding up six fingers to the crowd to represent the six Premier League titles he has won over the last seven seasons as Man City boss.
For many, this image evoked memories of Mourinho holding up three fingers to the Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur supporters while he was in charge of Manchester United in 2018 to represent the three English top-flight titles that he won during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho was later sacked from his post at Old Trafford, and Guardiola was asked, following the loss at Liverpool, if his future at Man City could also be in danger.
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Guardiola: 'Mourinho won three titles, I have won six'
Speaking to reporters, Guardiola said: "I hope not in my case... [Mourinho] won three, I won six... but we are the same like that.
"We are together in 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."
Mourinho, who now plies his trade in the Fenerbahce dugout, has since hit back at Guardiola in brutal fashion, suggesting that he has won all of his titles "fairly and cleanly" unlike the Man City boss amidst the ongoing hearing into the club's 115 financial charges levelled against them by the Premier League.
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Mourinho: "I don't want to win by dealing with 150 lawsuits"
"Guardiola said something to me yesterday. He won six trophies and I won three, but I won fairly and cleanly," Mourinho told reporters in Turkey.
"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."
The independent hearing into Man City's financial charges began in September and is expected to end at some stage this week, but a verdict is not set to be made public until at least spring 2025.
Sanctions in the event of a guilty verdict could range from heavy fines, points deductions or even expulsion from multiple competitions, but Guardiola - who signed a new two-year contract extension last month - has insisted that he will remain as Man City manager regardless of the outcome.
Mourinho has previously fired shots at Man City, saying in October that he could add a fourth Premier League medal to his collection if Guardiola's side are stripped of their titles and Man United, who finished second in the 2017-18 campaign, are awarded the Premier League trophy.
Oliver Thomas
