Jose Mourinho reignites Pep Guardiola feud with sly dig over England international

Jose Mourinho has re-opened old wounds by criticising Pep Guardiola over his treatment of England international Kalvin Phillips. 

The Roma boss has made a public sly dig at his old rival, who he went head-to-head with in El Clasico from 2010 to 2013, and again on either side of the Manchester divide between 2016 and 2019. 

The Special One has taken issue with Guardiola’s management of former Leeds star Philips, with the midfielder making just two Premier League starts since joining City in 2022.

Kalvin Phillips has struggled for game time since joining Manchester City (Image credit: Getty Images)

“Look, not that I’m jealous, but Manchester City, for example, paid €80 million for Phillips,” Mourinho told beIN Sports. “And now, in January, Pep said he will send him away and buy another (midfielder)

“We are in a different reality. I would like one, two, three or four players, and [Roma sporting director] Tiago Pinto and the owners would like them too. We all want to try to improve the team to be stronger for the second half of the season. But we have difficulties in trying to do that.”

City’s financial muscle has often been used as a caveat against Guardiola, whenever suggestions are made that he might be the best manager in the history of the game. 

Pep Guardiola has given Kalvin Phillips limited minutes so far this season (Image credit: Getty Images)

Although the pair originally worked together at Barcelona on friendly terms, the rivalry grew as both became two of the standout managers of their generation. 

But Mourinho and Guardiola have not locked horns in the dugout for nearly three years – with the most recent meeting coming back in February 2021, when City thrashed Spurs 3-0 in the Premier League. 

Although England midfielder Phillips has been linked with a move away from Manchester in January, he made the most of a rare start in Wednesday night’s Champions League dead rubber against Red Star, scoring his first goal for the club.

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