Mourinho's pointed jab at Guardiola gains new weight after Man City found guilty of 114 breaches

Manchester City have been found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules 114 times across a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018, a verdict that throws the legacy of Pep Guardiola’s trophy-laden decade at the Etihad Stadium into sharp relief — and lends new context to a pair of pointed remarks made by Jose Mourinho in the years the case was building.

City, who have always denied any wrongdoing, are expected to appeal the ruling. The club were originally charged in 2023, and the panel’s findings now set the stage for a separate hearing to determine punishment. Among the questions being asked is whether titles won during the period in question could ultimately be stripped.

Mourinho, now manager of Real Madrid, has never been shy about the subject. During a pre-match press conference while he was in charge of Fenerbahce, he responded directly to comments Guardiola had made comparing their respective trophy tallies — the Catalan had noted, with a pointed smile, that he had won six league titles to Mourinho’s three.

“Guardiola said something to me yesterday,” Mourinho said. “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.”

The remark was not the first time Mourinho had waded into the controversy. Nearly two years ago, the now 63-year-old raised the prospect — with characteristic mischief — that his former club Manchester United could yet be handed the 2012/13 Premier League title that City won during the period under scrutiny.

“I think we still have a chance to win that league,” he said, “and then they have to pay me the bonus and give me the medal.”

Under Mourinho, United finished runners-up to City in the 2017/18 season — his final full campaign at Old Trafford before he was sacked in December 2018 following a poor start to the following season. That title is among those that could theoretically be revisited if City’s appeal fails and sanctions include points deductions or title reversals, though no such outcome has been confirmed or formally proposed.

Guardiola won 17 major trophies across his decade in Manchester. The full implications of the panel’s verdict for that record remain to be determined once the appeals process concludes.