Attacks by Klopp and Mourinho will only fire up City

Hcontroversial FFP decision has created rifts between rivals and appears to have changed relations between them for ever

Well, that escalated quickly. It was no surprise that Pep Guardiola used his prematch press conference ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League fixture against Bournemouth to come out fighting after feeling completely vindicated. Any questions over team news or tactics were pushed to one side.

But Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho? The gloves are off now. Barely 24 hours after City’s two-season ban from European competition was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), the managers of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, two of their biggest rivals, did not mince their words.

Mourinho predicted financial fair play was dead – “the circus doors are open” – and that City’s spending would be out of control – “I know that money is quite easy for them.” That latter statement, in particular, will have been met with a snort of derision at the Etihad Stadium, given Mourinho (former Real Madrid and Manchester United as well, of course) enjoyed so much financial power in the early years of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea at a time when FFP had not been conceived.

Then it was Klopp’s turn and he was unequivocal in declaring it was “not a good day for FFP” as City had effectively won, bar a vastly reduced fine for non co-operation. In fairness, the Liverpool manager also put forward a cogent argument on the merits of FFP. While the whole issue is murky, the bottom line is there has to be some form of financial regulation. Just maybe not the FFP system that is in operation now.

Guardiola had said that City’s critics should not indulge in a “whispering” campaign against them, and here were two of the big guns of the Premier League giving it both barrels and in plain sight. It was, at the very least, refreshingly out there, while the antipathy that is felt between City and Liverpool and the rivalry that has developed has just been ratcheted up a few notches. This is way beyond Bernardo Silva half-heartedly joining a “guard of honour”.

City will rail against Liverpool trying to take the moral high ground, and no doubt their fans will remind them of the settlement reached over hacking City’s scouting system, for example, and the attack on their team bus. Liverpool will be flabbergasted by Guardiola’s pronouncement that they represent one of the “elite clubs” trying to do them down, as they have hardly spent their way to the top of the establishment.

What seems to have really upset City are the letters sent by eight Premier League clubs – United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Leicester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley (and none of them denies this) – to Cas earlier this year opposing the prospect of a “stay” on the two-year ban. City felt that was underhand.

But above all, what this has cemented is a sense around City that they are a kind of high-end version of Millwall. “No one likes us, we don’t care” is a slogan that is already taken, but the sentiment is shared at City, even if the suspicion is that, well, they really do care and it does bother them that their attempts to become one of European football’s big boys are met with, in their eyes, concerted opposition.

The antipathy between City and Liverpool has just been ratcheted up a few notches

What is fascinating is how Guardiola has reacted to all of this. He has taken on the mantle of an antiestablishment figure, even if such an outstanding manager has enjoyed success and advantage at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City.

Bayern, in particular, form part of the cabal who feel like City’s opposition, while it was interesting that Guardiola turned on Javier Tebas, the La Liga president, for his criticisms, given the soft loans and questionable property deals in Spanish football – and the European Commission has targeted Barcelona among those clubs.

What is spicy now is how the Champions League will play out, with City and Guardiola desperate to eliminate Real Madrid – the epitome of the establishment in their eyes – and go on finally to win the competition. It is all the more mouthwatering as the draw potentially places Juventus and Bayern, not far behind Real on City’s hit-list, in their way.

Guardiola’s motivation will be off the scale, as it will be to regain the Premier League title next season. The words of Mourinho and Klopp will also, perhaps, have made City just that bit more determined to give him the players he needs to do so.