Jose Mourinho snubs Pep Guardiola and Sir Alex Ferguson when naming the ‘greatest’ Premier League manager

When asked to name the “greatest” Premier League manager in terms of their accomplishments, Jose Mourinho made a choice that came as a surprise to everyone.

The Obi One Podcast posed a challenge to the former manager of Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur, asking him to choose between Pep Guardiola and Alex Ferguson. However, he refused to commit to either of them, instead citing the greatest accomplishment of another Premier League legend.

Is it Pep or Fergie? The two-time champion of the Champions League remarked, “Oh, it’s almost impossible to compare.”

There is no way to compare different generations. The potential to accomplish things cannot be compared to anything else. On the other hand, both of them have a lot of history in the Premier League.

In spite of this, I would still insist that [Claudio] Ranieri is the most legendary player in the history of the Premier League,” he went on to say.

Because going to victory with Leicester is a one-of-a-kind experience. It is a great accomplishment to win four, five, or six titles with Manchester United during that generation; however, it is even more remarkable to win five, six, or seven titles with City during this generation.

“There are no buts when it comes to Leicester. The title that I lived in close proximity to is, in my opinion, the most incredible one.

During the period between the years 2000 and 2004, Ranieri served as Chelsea’s manager at a crucial juncture in the club’s history. He succeeded Jose Mourinho as Chelsea’s manager. Ranieri was the manager of the Greek national team before being brought in to replace Nigel Pearson at Leicester City. Prior to moving to Leicester City, Ranieri had previously managed in Spain, Italy, and France.

Ranieri led the Foxes to their first and only league title in the 2015–16 season, which came after Pearson had accomplished a remarkable escape from relegation through his leadership.

A 10-point advantage over Arsenal, who finished in second place, allowed Leicester to win the Premier League. As a result of Chelsea being one of the teams that failed to live up to expectations during Leicester’s historic title-winning season, Mourinho was fired from his second stint as manager at Stamford Bridge in December of 2015.

Ranieri was fired by Leicester in February of 2017, when his team of championship winners was hovering above the Premier League relegation zone. Craig Shakespeare, who had passed away at the time, took over as manager of the club thereafter.

In addition to Fulham, Watford, Nantes, and Sampdoria, the 73-year-old manager added those clubs to his resume before coming back to Roma for a third stint as the club’s manager. To this day, Ranieri continues to serve as the manager of the Giallorossi at the Olimpico, where he became the fourth manager of the year 2024. After Mourinho was given his marching orders, Daniele De Rossi took over as manager. Mourinho was the first person to hold this position.