Jose Mourinho aims sarcastic jibe at Mauro Icardi as Fenerbahce boss snaps back at Galatasaray star after ‘crying one’ taunt
Jose Mourinho has continued his bizarre spat with Mauro Icardi as he sarcastically labelled the Galatasaray star as the ‘GOAT’.
The Fenerbahce boss was in typical form as he addressed a taunt from Icardi, who called Mourinho the ‘crying one’ in response to a social media post by the Portuguese.
Mourinho had sparked the war of words as he posted on Instagram after Galatasaray’s clash with Adana Demirspor was abandoned when Adana’s players walked off the pitch after 30 minutes in protest at a controversial penalty decision.
He used a picture which appeared to show Galatasaray defender Davinson Sanchez handling the ball in the box in a game against Gaziantep last week. A penalty was not given against the ex-Spurs star.
‘In the Handball World Cup that ended last Sunday, my Portugal brilliantly reached the semifinals and I want to congratulate them for such an achievement and the impact they will create on our country’s youth,’ Mourinho wrote.
Icardi responded by using a ‘crying one’ meme, a reference to Mourinho’s famous ‘special one’ quote from his first press conference with Chelsea in 2004, on his Instagram story.
Jose Mourinho had sparked the war of words with Mauro Icardi with a post on Instagram
Galatasaray star Icardi hit back at Mourinho by calling him ‘the crying one’ on his Instagram
Mourinho responded to Icardi’s post in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday
And Mourinho hit back on Wednesday by aiming a sarcastic jibe at Icardi in his pre-match press conference ahead of Fenerbahce’s Europa League play-off first leg against Anderlecht on Thursday.
‘I show I am a special one, not the special one. With 25 years of career and 26 titles and not with one match,’ Mourinho said.
‘That is not one match to define my career. My career is a career of 25 years.
‘In relation to the comments of Icardi, Icardi is a GOAT and I refuse to comment on a GOAT’s words. He is too big, I won’t comment.’
GOAT – greatest of all time – is typically used to describe the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The Argentine, who has hit the headlines in recent months after a messy divorce from Wanda Nara, is not expected to return for Galatasaray this season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in the 3-2 win over Tottenham in November.
Mourinho has regularly criticised referees in Turkey since taking over as Fenerbahce manager.
The 62-year-old was slapped with a fine in excess of £20,000 and given a one-match ban after he launched into a furious tirade at the Turkish Super Lig and the standard of officiating in November.
Mourinho referred to Icardi as the ‘GOAT’ and said he would not comment on the Galatasaray striker’s post
Speaking after a 3-2 win over Trabzonspor, Mourinho said: ‘Nobody abroad wants to watch the Turkish league.
‘Who wants to watch this Turkish league abroad? They have the Premier League, they have the French league, they have the German league, they have the Portuguese league, they have the Dutch league. Why should they see this?
‘It’s too grey. It’s too dark, smells bad. But that’s my job, and I will give everything to my job, to my club.’
Mourinho then hit out at the performance of the match officials in the victory against Trabzonspor, specifically Atilla Karaoglan, who worked on the game as the VAR.
After seeing his side concede two penalties, Mourinho was furious when Karaoglan did not intervene to award Fenerbahce a spot-kick in the 82nd minute after the ball struck the arm of Banza inside the 18-yard box.
Mourinho said: ‘We were in good control, winning 1-0 when Atilla woke up because in the first half he was probably having Turkish tea.
‘The man of the match was Atilla Karaoglan. We didn’t see him but he was the referee.
‘The referee was just a little boy that was there on the pitch, but the referee was Atilla Karaoglan.’
