Jose Mourinho has issued a scathing response to Pep Guardiola after the Man City boss reminded fans that he had won twice as many Premier League titles as the Portuguese manager.
Guardiola made the comment as he answered questions following his side's 2-0 defeat to Liverpool last weekend.
The 53-year-old was seen raising six fingers to the Anfield crowd after the match in reference to his top flight trophy haul.
The image evoked memories of Mourinho, who famously held up three fingers to Chelsea and Tottenham fans during a defeat in the latter days of his Manchester United tenure in 2018.
Mourinho was sacked months later and Guardiola wad asked if he could suffer the same fate.
The City manager replied: '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.'
And Mourinho has clearly taken issue with the comment, hitting back at the Spaniard.
The Fenerbahçe manager said: '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.'
Mourinho was clearly making reference to the 115 charges than City are currently facing.
City face potential relegation from the Premier League over the 115 charges levelled at them for allegedly breaching the English football body’s financial rules.
The proceedings, which began back in September, were shrouded in mystery initially, before it was later revealed that it was being held at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London (IDRC) - which is near St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London.
On Wednesday, Premier League barristers Andrew Hunter KC and Adam Lewis KC of Blackstone Chambers were seen making their way to the centre for closing statements.
Should Lewis and his legal team prove City are guilty of the most serious financial breaches, the club could face severe punishments such as relegation or a significant points deduction.
All of City's 115 charges will be investigated, reviewed and analysed by an independent commission.
