- Mourinho says having just two teams fighting for the big titles forced him and Guardiola to be enemies
- The Manchester United manager says their rivalry has been diminished because of the Premier League
- The Red Devils boss admits that he and Guardiola did not always behave themselves when they in spain
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho played down his rivalry with City boss Pep Guardiola saying it has all died down since arriving the Premier League.
Mourinho and Guardiola were enemies during their time in charge of Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.
The Manchester United manager was in charge of Los Blancos from 2010 till he left in 2013 while the current Manchester City manager was in charge of the Catalans from 2008 to 2012.
Guardiola and Mourinho are no longer enemies like they were in Spain. Photo: Fourfourtwo.com
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The El Clasico clashes during their time in spain was heated and many times led to dismissals for different player.
"In Spain, it is two clubs fighting against each other. Now Atletico Madrid is also close, but in our time, it was just about us," Mourinho said ahead of United's clash with City in the International Champions Cup.
Mourinho said the nature of La Liga where Barca and Madrid fought for the biggest titles meant their rivalry was to be heated.
"For three years, it was just about us. Champions League matches, La Liga titles, Copa del Rey finals, Super Cup finals. Everything was about Real and Barcelona.
"We were in a situation of it being not easy. In England, I knew before it happened that it would be completely different, because it's a completely different league."
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Mourinho added that he had no personal vendetta against Guardiola despite being passed over for the Barcelona job in favour of the Spaniard.
"I think the way we both behaved, I think make it also blow in that direction. Many people would think wrongly that we had a personal situation, to which we always told 'no'," he said.
"It was just the consequence of being in Barcelona and Real Madrid in a specific period of their history.
"Barcelona was in the top. Real Madrid was in the low and trying to come and break that Barcelona dominancy."
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