Jamie Carragher lays into ‘broken record’ Jose Mourinho and claims Pep Guardiola would lead his side to title glory
Portuguese boss suggests his side are 15 points off league leaders Manchester City because of money spent but Carragher is having none of it
JAMIE CARRAGHER has stuck the knife into Jose Mourinho by claiming Manchester United would be league champions if Pep Guardiola was boss.
The two managers have a fierce rivalry stemming from their time in La Liga when Mourinho was in charge of Real Madrid and Guardiola with arch enemies Barcelona.
Spaniard Guardiola is cruising to the Premier League title with Manchester City but only because of the money they have spent on players Mourinho claimed last week.
But Carragher believes his argument is flawed and United would see a completely different approach if Guardiola was in charge.
In his column written in the Telegraph, he said: "If Pep Guardiola was in charge of the United squad I believe they would win the title.
"Rewind to the start of this season and assess the head-to-head qualities of the United and City squads. Player-for-player, which would you argue was superior?
"Was Ederson considered better than David De Gea? Were City’s centre-backs Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones preferable to Eric Bailly and Phil Jones? Did United fans want Fernandinho or Nemanja Matic?
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"United broke the world transfer record to sign Paul Pogba, and then made Romelu Lukaku the most expensive Premier League player of last summer. Which English clubs made bigger statements of intent?
"City are ahead this season because Guardiola has developed players rather than expected ready-made talent to instantly deliver.
"Mourinho has increasingly come to rely on more experienced, established performers. If you want to evolve a club or a team, you don’t call Mourinho.
"If Mourinho was coaching the Manchester City side they would not be playing the style of football we are seeing today.
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"If there is a symbol of that look no further than Kevin De Bruyne, a player Mourinho coached at Chelsea but then sold.
"This shows the biggest difference between City and United this season is nothing to do with money.
"Guardiola is breaking records. Mourinho is starting to sound like a broken one."