Pep Guardiola bites back at Jose Mourinho's charges jibe as Man City boss doubles down

Pep Guardiola has brushed off Jose Mourinho’s recent Man City charges dig, stating he’s just “another one on the huge list” who wants to see his side relegated.

Guardiola insists his comments about not fearing the sack like Mourinho because of his six Premier League titles to his rival’s three was merely “a joke”.

The Fenerbahce manager, formerly of Man Utd, hit back at his initial comments, claiming he ‘won fairly’ and making reference to City’s 115 charges.

Guardiola responded: “It was a joke, but he’s another one on the huge list that want the team in League One or the Conference. I would say to Jose the same: we are innocent until proven guilty. After that we will see what happens.

“He is another one on the huge list in this country and more around the world that want us at the bottom.

“It’s OK, it’s fine. I’ve said many times, wait for the sentence and everyone, especially in a democracy, is innocent until proven guilty. Right? We’ll wait and after we’ll see.

“The fact is he has three and I have six. This is a fact, but the intention was completely fine.”

Guardiola offered an apology to Mourinho if he felt hurt and also shrugged off Arne Slot’s quip about the charges.

He added: “The joke from Arne Slot is his business, not my business. I’m talking about what I said. If I have offended him [Mourinho] I’m so sorry, but it was a joke.

“Both with our teams, him with Chelsea and me with Man City, we can sit at the table with Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, right? For the many, many titles we won and I’m pretty sure soon they will congratulate us.”