Man City Guardiola says relationship with Spurs’ Mourinho better than before

Pep Guardiola says he is happier now that he has put aside the differences of the past with José Mourinho.

Guardiola and Mourinho had a turbulent relationship during their time together in Spain, while running Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively.

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They met in Manchester in 2016, when Guardiola was appointed by Manchester City and Mourinho took over Manchester United and before another meeting on Saturday, when Mourinho, now Tottenham manager, visits Etihad Stadium, Guardiola says he is happy that the shooting he finished.

“I absolutely prefer that, I don’t like being in the limelight,” Guardiola told a news conference on Friday.

“I like to do my job, train without a press conference. The game speaks for itself, but we have to. For business, to advertise to everyone, you have to do it.

“I’m a coach not to go out and talk about something bad about the other coaches, clubs. I’m here to talk about football; that’s why I’m here and I became a coach.”

After the fireworks in Spain, the rivalry between Guardiola and Mourinho was expected to intensify in Manchester, but it never reached the same ferocity, as City became the dominant force in English football, while Mourinho lasted just over two years at Old Trafford.

“Maybe you wait, or like it, but the situations are natural, why would we have to rival all the managers we have?” said Guardiola.

“Before I calm down, I prefer not to get involved. I have a good relationship with him, we can agree or disagree, but it is not a big problem.

“His business is Tottenham, or before United, mine is City. We have to take care of our team and backstage staff and we don’t have time to know what happens to the other club and we don’t even care. The only concern is what we have to do [against Tottenham]. “