Jose Mourinho is unsure as to whether he is one of few managers that can get under the skin of Pep Guardiola. Mourinho and Guardiola have had a long and storied rivalry dating back to their respective times in Spain.
The two have faced off 21 times – more than either Mourinho or Guardiola have come up against any other manager – with their first meeting coming in September 2009.
They met when Mourinho took over at Real Madrid the following year to challenge Guardiola’s Barcelona dynasty, and are again locked in a fierce battle in the Premier League.
Their last meeting saw Mourinho secure his fifth win over the Spaniard, with United coming from two goals down to win 3-2 at Old Trafford.
Paul Pogba scored twice in that game, with Guardiola having spent much of the build-up to the game revealing that he had been offered the Frenchman in January.
Mourinho described those comments as a “mistake” after Pogba’s match-winning performance, but does not believe it is a sign he still gets to Guardiola.
“Before that match I didn’t even know about that,” Mourinho said.
“I didn’t feel it, no.”
The United manager said that after three consecutive wins, including an impressive victory over Juventus in midweek, Pep Guardiola knows he is in for a “difficult match.”
Mourinho praised City for their work on and off the pitch after a season during which they won the title by a record 19 points, but he refused to be drawn on allegations published in Der Spiegel that their success has been built on finding ways to get around FFP rules, including organising inflated sponsorship deals.
“It is difficult for me to answer because I focus on my job, I focus on the four lines, focus on football,” Mourinho told a news conference on Friday. “If you want to speak about their football potential, we can speak and football potential starts with investment.
“After that, of course, there is a quality of the work, of the organisation. I think that is untouchable but what is behind [the scenes] I cannot say.
“In this moment I have only to think about football, and to think about football is to think about Manchester City as a football team.”
United were the last team to win a Premier League game at the Etihad Stadium and, despite a mixed start to the season, will head there full of confidence after fighting back against Bournemouth and Juventus to win both games 2-1.
Victory over Guardiola’s side would cut the gap at the top to six points but Mourinho refused to say the derby is a chance for his team to get back into the title race.
“If we draw [the gap] is nine points if we lose it is 12,” he said. “I don’t think it is the way to look at the match.”