He was asked if he was ‘losing his cool.’
Pep Guardiola brutally aimed a dig at Jose Mourinho in his pre-match press conference ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League game against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night.
He was asked by reporters about the gesture he made to the Liverpool fans on Sunday after the current Premier League champions lost 2-0 by Arne Slot’s side.
After Guardiola received chants of ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’, the 53-year-old responded by holding six fingers up to the home fans, referencing how many Premier League titles he has won with City.
Guardiola said he ‘didn’t expect’ the chant hence why he responded in such a way.
In his press conference, he was asked if the signal was a sign he was ‘losing his cool’ to which Guardiola responded: “I was never cool.”
He continued: “I was only cool because we won. When you don’t win, it’s completely the opposite.”
His behaviour evoked memories of his former rival Jose Mourinho, who infamously held up three fingers while he was manager of Manchester United, to remind fans he had won three Premier League titles with Chelsea and deserved more respect.
Shortly after that incident, his spell at United came to an end.
Guardiola was asked if the similarities stopped with the gesture or if he too could be at the ‘beginning of the end’ with City.
He replied with a cheeky dig at Mourinho, reminding reporters that he has twice as many Premier League titles as he had.
He said:
“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.”
City currently find themselves in fifth place in the Premier League table after failing to win any of their last seven games across all competitions.
They are 11 points adrift of League leaders Liverpool and just one point above tonight’s opponents Forest.
