Jose Mourinho was left unimpressed when he heard Jurgen Klopp referred to as a ‘great manager’.
The manager was sacked by Manchester United after his side lost 3-1 to Liverpool at Anfield in December, but views his rival as more of a runner-up than winner.
The two had been involved in a war of words during their time as opposing managers in the Premier League and one tale of their rivalry appeared in The Times on Saturday.
It is said Mourinho refused to acknowledge Klopp as one of the elite bosses in football during a corporate event in 2016.
Listening to an introduction during a rehearsal, Antonio Conte, Pep Guardiola and Klopp were described as great managers in the Premier League.
But the self-proclaimed Special One took exception to the Liverpool manager’s name being on the list.
“Not Klopp,” he is claimed to have said, before explaining why.
Despite Klopp winning two titles during his time at Borussia Dortmund, Mourinho said it was because Bayern Munich were “s***” back then.
Since taking over at Anfield in 2015, he has guided Liverpool to the League Cup, Champions League and Europea League finals and been beaten in all of them.
Now, though, the club are top of the Premier League and on course to win a first title since 1990.
Despite that, Mourinho still appeared to have a dig at the German this week.
“It’s very easy to ‘play well’ and not win,” the Portuguese said while working for beIN SPORTS.
“It’s very easy to be behind a certain idea of a certain football, without results. But the people who win consistently have a different idea about that.
“If you speak about Guardiola, if you speak about Ancelotti, about the ones where obviously I belong, who have a career of victories over a long period, where are the young ones with a real impact in terms of results? Where are they?”
Mourinho also rubbished speculation he could retire and is itching to get back into top level coaching where he feels he still has a place.
“I am too young, I am in football for a long, long time, but I will be 56 in a couple of weeks and am really too young,” he said.
“Where I am going to stay is where I belong, I belong to top football. I belong to top-level football and (that) is where I am going to be.”