“I don't want to win by dealing with 150 lawsuits” - Ex-Chelsea and Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho hits back at Pep Guardiola over trophy dig

Former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has hit back at Pep Guardiola after the Manchester City manager took a cheeky dig at him last week. The Portuguese manager claimed that his title wins were 'fair and clear', unlike the Spaniard's at Manchester City.

Speaking to the media ahead of Fenerbahce's clash against Besiktas, Mourinho stated that he did not want to deal with lawsuits after winning trophies. He said that he would rather congratulate the opponents after a defeat than win unfairly, referring to the 1115 charges against the Cityzens for breaking Financial Fair Play rules.

He said (via GOAL):

"Pep Guardiola said something to me yesterday. He won six trophies and I won three, but I won fairly and cleanly. 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."

Guardiola had taken shots at Mourinho by claiming that he was not copying the former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager during his side's 2-0 defeat to Liverpool. The comments came after he gestured 'six' to the fans at Anfield, referring to his six Premier League titles.

He claimed that it was just a gesture towards the Liverpool fans and said (via GOAL):

"I hope not in my case… He won three, I won six.. but we are the same like that. We are together in the 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."

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City got back to winning ways this week with a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest. Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce are just three points behind Galatasaray in the Turkish first-division table with just one loss this season.

Why did Pep Guardiola take shots at Jose Mourinho?

Pep Guardiola was asked about his gesture towards the Anfield crowd after the Liverpool game, and comparisons were drawn with Jose Mourinho, who had gestured 'three' to reporters during his time at Manchester United. Notably, the Portuguese was referring to the three English top-flight titles he had won with Chelsea.

Guardiola clarified that he was only hitting back at Liverpool fans who were chanting 'sacked in the morning' to the Manchester City manager. The Spaniard claimed that he did not expect the chants from the Reds faithful and said (via beIN Sports):

“All stadiums want to fire me. Maybe they’re right with the results we’ve had, but I didn’t expect this at Anfield. They didn’t do it at 1-0, but at 2-0. Maybe they should have done it earlier. I didn’t expect it from the people of Liverpool, but it’s fine, it’s part of the game, and I completely understand. We’ve had incredible battles together, and I respect them."

Manchester City are currently nine points behind leaders Liverpool in the league table after losing four of their last five matches. Pep Guardiola's side are fourth in the table, two points behind Chelsea and Arsenal.