Redcasting The Cold War, Guardiola Apologizes For Alluding To Mourinho

JAKARTA - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he was only joking when he mentioned winning twice as many Premier League titles as Jose Mourinho.

The response from the Spaniard came after Mourinho satirized him by saying that he won his title fairly.

"I won fairly and cleanly. I don't want to win by handling 150 court cases," Mourinho was quoted as saying by Hurriyet on Friday, December 6, 2024, local time ahead of Fenerbahce against Besiktas.

Mourinho's comment was not without reason. He reacted after Guardiola mentioned the Portuguese manager's title in the Premier League after Manchester City's defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, December 1, 2024.

At that time, Guardiola raised six fingers to Liverpool fans after the match, a movement similar to Mourinho which raised three fingers in 2018 before being sacked by Manchester United.

In the press conference room, journalists also confirmed to Guardiola regarding the action. Journalists asked if he would suffer the same fate as the Portuguese coach.

"I hope not in my case. He won three, I won six, but we were the same," said Guardiola.

However, on Friday, December 7, 2024, at the time of the location, Guardiola tried to straighten out his comments which turned out to offend Mourinho.

The Spaniard also said that Manchester City was innocent until he was found guilty, responding to Mourinho's satire for alleged violations of Premier League financial rules from 2009 to 2018.

"If I offend him, I'm sorry. However, it was just a joke. In fact, he has three and I have six, that's a fact. However, his intentions are fine."

"I think our team, he and Chelsea, me and Manchester City, can sit in the standings with Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, right?"

"For a lot of titles we have won, I'm pretty sure sooner or later they will congratulate us," Guardiola said.

Guardiola further said there are many people around the world who want to see Manchester City at the bottom.

"We are innocent until proven guilty. After that, we will see what happens, but that's how it is," he said again.

Sementara itu, Mourinho pernah mengkritik Manchester City sebelumnya, dengan mengatakan pada Oktober 2024 bahwa ia berharap dapat menambahkan gelar Liga Inggris kemarisnya jika gelar The Citizens pada musim 2017/2018 dicabut.

Manchester United, which in that season was in second place in the standings, could be awarded the Premier League trophy.

Chelsea, where Mourinho won three Premier League titles in 2004/2005, 2005/2006, and 2014/2015, are being investigated by the Premier League over potential financial rule violations between 2012 and 2019.