Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has labelled his Premier League trophy comments “a joke” in an attempt to ease renewed tensions with arch rival Jose Mourinho, following the latter’s clap-back via Turkish media.
During City’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, Guardiola held up six fingers to symbolize his six Premier League titles, drawing comparisons to Jose Mourinho’s infamous three-finger gesture during a 2018 press conference.
When asked about the similarity, the Spaniard acknowledged it and responded with a touch of humor; “He won three Premier Leagues, and I’ve won six. So, it’s not quite the same, is it?”
In response, Mourinho referenced the 115 charges levelled against City for alleged breaches of financial fair play regulations, saying; “I want to win, but I want to win cleanly and fairly. If I cannot win cleanly, I prefer to lose.”
Guardiola has since attempted to downplay this latest war of words, explaining to members of the press that his comments about Mourinho’s trophy count “was a joke”.
“If I have offended him [Mourinho], I am so sorry. But it was a joke. The fact is he has three and I have six, it is a fact. But the intention was completely fine.
“It’s another one to add to the huge list of people who want the team in League One or the Conference. But we are innocent until proven guilty, so after that we will see what happens. But it is what it is, it was completely a joke.
“I think both of us – him [Mourinho] with Chelsea, myself with City – we can sit at the table with Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, right? For the many titles we won. And I’m pretty sure sooner or later they will congratulate us.”
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