Jose Mourinho Slammed by Manuel Pellegrini for Hogging Chelsea Plaudits

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini believes Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho "wants to take credit" for all of the west London side's success.

Chelsea finished eight points ahead of second-place City during the 2014-15 campaign, but as preparations for the new season continue, Pellegrini has taken something of a swipe at his longtime rival. 

"When he wins, Mourinho wants to take credit for everything. I never do that," the 61-year-old told Chilean newspaper El Mercurio (h/t James Robson of the Manchester Evening News). "When I won the Premier League, I didn't say a word." 

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However, Pellegrini was keen to stress he doesn't intend to create unnecessary trouble with the Special One: "I don't have any problem with Mourinho, he's not my enemy and there isn't any conflict—but I differ from him on all fronts. I have no interest in analysing him as a person."

Both managers have won the Premier League title since heading to England in 2013. Their strained relationship began when Mourinho replaced Pellegrini as Real Madrid boss in 2010, reported by Dan Lucas of the Telegraph.

Not only did Mourinho refer to his Los Blancos predecessor as "Mr. Pellegrino," per Lucas, but he also mocked the Chilean's decision to take over as Malaga boss.

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"If they (Madrid) get rid of me, I won't be going to coach Malaga," said Mourinho, reported by Tim Stannard of FourFourTwo. "I will go to a big club in the Premier League or Serie A."

He was true to his word, returning to Chelsea after causing havoc among the media and his own colleagues in the Spanish capital. 

Pellegrini grew frustrated with watching Chelsea's defensive approach throughout the recently concluded campaign. He labelled Mourinho's side a "small team" after their 1-1 draw in September, according to Daniel Taylor of the Guardian.

He also compared Chelsea's pragmatic style unfavourably to Stoke City, who are often criticised for playing overly physical football in a non-ambitious way. "It was very similar to the Stoke team, with a big team playing against a small team with very good players, trying to defend, trying to keep the score (nil-nil)," said Pellegrini. "They had nine players in front of their box. "

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Mourinho recently claimed City should lose points because they failed to adhere to UEFA's financial fair play guidelines prior to the 2014-15 season, reported in an interview with the official magazine of the Portuguese Football Association (h/t Daily Mail's Ian Ladyman). "We live with what we produce," said the Chelsea leader with regard to the club's ability to break even.

The two experienced pros look set to do battle next season. Mourinho's Chelsea will be widely regarded as title favourites after losing just three games last term, and if Pellegrini can adequately strengthen his ageing squad, City should be there or thereabouts.

Last September's 1-1 draw was followed by the same scoreline at Stamford Bridge in January. Mourinho is the master of tightening his team in pivotal matches, making Chelsea difficult to break down and constantly ready to launch a counter. Pellegrini often gives the impression that he wishes to play scintillating attacking football but is unable to put it into action on the pitch.

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While he doesn't want to begin a war of words, any mention of Mourinho will add to the tension between the pair. Pellegrini is usually fairly reserved in his interviews, but there's something about Mourinho that seems to irritate him to the core.

The feeling is mutual, as we'll likely see in the inevitable Mourinho retort.