Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said Jose Mourinho will bounce back after he was sacked by Manchester United on Tuesday due to re-current bad results.
The Spaniard believes he and Mourinho will cross paths again in the near future.
Guardiola and Mourinho established a generation-defining rivalry during their time in opposition as coaches of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Speaking after his team’s penalty shoot-out win at Leicester City in the EFL Cup quarter-finals, Guardiola insisted there should be no doubts over Mourinho’s capacity to overcome this significant career setback.
“When that happens, always I am sad for the mangers all the time,” he told Sky Sports.
“We are alone, the managers – when the situation is not good we are alone.
“Always I am close to them. In football, that happens.
“You know what happens when you are sad. It is because the results are not good
“He doesn’t need me, he is so strong. Soon he is going to come back and we will play again.”
Guardiola and Mourinho clashed six times in Manchester derbies, with City winning three and United prevailing twice.