• Premier League

Pellegrini signs off with swipe at Mourinho

ESPN staff
February 11, 2014
Mourinho: No forward planning from City

Manuel Pellegrini insists last week's attack on Jose Mourinho was a one-off, although the Manchester City boss took another swipe at his Chelsea counterpart in his efforts to avoid being drawn further into a war of words.

He accused Mourinho of lying after the latter had branded Pellegrini's side lucky, saying they benefited from refereeing decisions.

And in response to Mourinho's comments that Chelsea were the "little horse" in the title race, Pellegrini claimed Chelsea were the league's big spenders.

Mourinho hit back by questioning Pellegrini's maths and urging the FA to ban City midfielder Yaya Toure for a kick at Norwich's Ricky van Wolfswinkel in Saturday's 0-0 draw.

But Toure escaped a three-game ban and Pellegrini said: "I suppose the FA acts in the way they think is better for all the teams. I trust in the FA and I trust in referees."

And Pellegrini, whose rivalry with Mourinho dates back to their days in Spain, insisted he will not continue the public argument.

"I just answered once to Mourinho because if you remain always in silence, people may agree with those things. He started talking about referees and financial fair play. I don't think it is the way. I will not continue every week talking about things that for me are not an important level," he said.

And Pellegrini believes Mourinho's rhetoric is a distraction from events on the pitch, which is why he prefers to ignore whatever his successor at Real Madrid says.

"I don't respond to things Mourinho says every week because he will continue every week to try talking about things that are not [related to] football," Pellegrini added.

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