Explained: Why Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho have been at loggerheads with each other of late

Pep Guardiola has been going through a lot of late. Not only are Manchester City going through one of their leanest phases in recent years, with the defending English champions having recently gone seven matches without a win and suffered five defeats in a row, they also find themselves facing more than a hundred charges of violating the Premier League’s financial rules.

As if that’s not enough, there has also been speculation of the Catalan parting ways with the current title holders despite signing a contract extension recently following the exit of sporting director and close friend Txiki Begiristain.

And now Guardiola finds himself embroiled in another issue – a feud with Jose Mourinho. The two are among the most celebrated managers of the modern era alongside legendary names such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti, among others and are also considered among the greatest managers of all time. One would therefore, expect Guardiola and Mourinho to have a sense of mutual respect even if they did not always get along.

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That, however, did not stop the two icons from trading barbs with one another over the last few days.

What is the reason behind Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho’s feud?

Guardiola had raised six fingers in a reference to the number of Premier League titles City had won during his tenure in response to boos from Liverpool fans at The Anfield, where his team suffered a 0-2 defeat last Sunday .

It instantly brought back memories of Mourinho holding up three fingers while managing Manchester United during an underwhelming 2018 season, the ‘Special One’ making the gesture shortly before he was sacked from the role.

🚨 José Mourinho: “Pep Guardiola said something to me yesterday… he won six trophies and I won three, but I won fairly and cleanly”.

“I don't want to win by dealing with 150 lawsuits”.

“If I lost, I want to congratulate my opponent”, says — via @MailSport. pic.twitter.com/kvW5j0DURl

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 6, 2024

When asked about meeting a fate similar to Mourinho at United, Guardiola reminded reporters of the fact that he had won twice as many Premier League titles as the Portuguese manager.

“I hope not in my case… he won three, I won six.. but we are the same like that,” Guardiola had said.

Mourinho fired back at the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager that while he had won half as many titles, he had won them “fairly”, giving Guardiola a reminder of the 115 financial charges that City faces.

“Guardiola said something about me… he won six trophies and I won three, but I won fairly and cleanly,” Turkish outlet Hurriyet quoted Fenerbahce boss Mourinho as saying on Friday.

“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 court cases,” he added.

Also Read | Five reasons why defending English champions Manchester City have struggled this season

Guardiola, however, responded by maintaining that Manchester City were innocent until proven guilty while adding that his original comment after the Liverpool defeat was “a joke”.

“What I said was just a joke. José Mourinho is another in the long list of people who want us, I don’t know, in League One or the Conference League," the 53-year-old said in a press conference ahead of the league game against Crystal Palace, which takes place on Saturday.

“I’ll answer him the same way: we’re innocent until proven guilty. So, let’s see what happens, but what I said was just a joke."

Both Guardiola and Mourinho hold the distinction of winning the Premier League as well as LaLiga besides winning the Champions League.

Guardiola had helped his former club Barcelona win the Spanish top flight thrice in four seasons followed by a hat-trick of titles with Bayern Munich from 2013 to 2016. He won the Champions League twice with Barcelona (2008-09, 2010-11) and once with City (2022-23).

Mourinho, on the other hand, helped Chelsea win the Premier League thrice (2004–05, 2005–06, 2014–15), albeit in different stints, and also won league titles with Porto (2002–03, 2003–04), Inter Milan (2008–09, 2009–10) and Real Madrid (2011–12). He also won the Champions League with Porto (2003-04) and Inter (2009-10).