Jose Mourinho fires back at Pep Guardiola: 'My Premier League trophies were earned through fair play'

Jose Mourinho has responded to Pep Guardiola's remarks about the number of Premier League titles he has won by asserting that his victories were achieved through fair and honest means.

Guardiola, whose team lost 2-0 at Liverpool last Sunday, held up six fingers to home fans to indicate the number of Premier League titles he won in response to chants of "You're getting sacked in the morning".

Mourinho, who won three Premier League titles at Chelsea, had similarly held up three fingers to opposing fans during an underwhelming league campaign at Manchester United, before being sacked in December 2018 after a loss to Liverpool.

Guardiola was asked at a press conference whether he could face a fate similar to Mourinho.

"I hope not in my case... he won three, I won six.. but we are the same like that," Guardiola answered.

In his response to the Spaniard, Mourinho alluded to City's 115 charges over alleged violations of the Premier League's financial rules ranging from 2009 to 2018, which the club has always denied.

"Guardiola said something about me... he won six trophies and I won three, but I won fairly and cleanly," Turkish outlet Hurriyet quoted Mourinho as saying on Friday, ahead of his team Fenerbahce's clash with Besiktas.

"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."

City did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment about Mourinho's statement.

Mourinho has taken shots at City before, saying he was hoping he could add a fourth Premier League medal to his cabinet if City are stripped of their titles and United, who finished second in 2017/18, are awarded the Premier League trophy.