Jose Mourinho claims he and Pep Guardiola “love each other” but demands justice over Manchester City’s 115 charges | OneFootball

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has rejected Pep Guardiola’s claim that the Portuguese coach wants to see Manchester City relegated.

Recent comments between the pair have largely centred around Manchester City’s 115 charges issued by the Premier League in February 2023 over alleged breaches of its financial rules across a prolonged period of time.

City were referred to a hearing before an independent commission that began in mid-September of this year, and concluded at the end of last week following final arguments being put forward by both the Premier League and the Etihad Stadium club.

After Guardiola had recently pointed out that he has so far won double the amount of English top-flight titles achieved by Mourinho, the latter did not seem too happy and told reporters in Turkey earlier this month, “I won fairly and cleanly. I don’t want to win with 150 lawsuits.”

That sparked further responses from the Manchester City head coach, who insisted that Mourinho was simply one of a number of figures within football that are desperate to see the Etihad club relegated into League Two or the Conference through their 115 charges.

And speaking during a recent press conference, as relayed by Turkish news outlet Fanatik, Jose Mourinho claimed that both he and Pep Guardiola know that they love each other, but demands justice over City’s 115 charges related to Premier League financial rules.

“Pep (Guardiola) and I worked together for three years, we know we love each other,” Mourinho said, as translated by Sport Witness. He continued, “It is not true that I want them (Manchester City) to be relegated, what is true is that I want justice.

“Small teams can sometimes be penalised by FFP (Financial FairPlay) when they exceed their limits by five to 10 euros. I also suffered due to the limits when I was at Roma. I don’t think this is fair.”

Mourinho closed, “We love each other, he knows it. Words are one thing, feelings are another. All I want is justice, but we have no ill feelings towards each other.”

Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho are unlikely to face each other in competitive action any time soon however, with the former committed to Manchester City by a further two years and the latter some way off returning to the very top of the game.

For now, Guardiola’s focus will be far away from the 115 charges and legal issues off the field, with City hoping to return to their excellent best on the pitch immediately as they take on Juventus away from home and Manchester United at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon.