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Jose Mourinho has taken a swipe at his old enemy Pep Guardiola by declaring that he won his three Premier League titles “fairly and cleanly” and claiming he would rather lose than cheat.
The Fenerbahce manager referenced the 130 Premier League charges Manchester City face as he took aim at Guardiola – a rival first when they were in charge of Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively and then when they were employed at Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola, when taunted by the Liverpool crowd last week with chants of “sacked in the morning”, responded by raising six fingers, one for each of the Premier Leagues he has won.
It was a gesture that had echoes of the time Mourinho raised three fingers, for the three titles he won over his two spells at Chelsea, when he was barracked at Manchester United.
But the Portuguese claimed there is a major difference between them, saying: “I want to win, but I want to win clean and fairly. If I can’t win cleanly, I’d rather lose. Guardiola told me something like this yesterday. He won six trophies and I won three, but I won fairly and cleanly.
“If I lost, I want to congratulate my opponent for being better than me. I don’t want to win by dealing with 150 cases.”
City have claimed they are innocent of the charges, while they relate to the time between 2009 and 2018, when Guardiola won his first Premier League title. If City are found guilty, one of the potential punishments is they could be stripped of some of the titles they have won while Mourinho’s United finished second, 19 points behind City, in 2018.
Guardiola is not personally accused of anything and has been outspoken in City’s defence. The case brought by the Premier League is currently being heard, with a verdict expected next year.