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

Jose Mourinho has made a surprising selection when asked to name the 'greatest' Premier League manager in terms of their achievements.

The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur manager was challenged by The Obi One Podcast to choose between Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola but wasn't willing to commit to either, citing instead the best achievement by another Premier League legend.

"Fergie or Pep? Oh, impossible to compare," said the two-time Champions League winner.

"Impossible to compare generations. Impossible to compare the potential to do things. But both of them are historical in the Premier League."

"But I would still say for me, the historical one in the Premier League is [Claudio] Ranieri," he continued.

"Because to win with Leicester is something unique. To win four, five, six titles with Man Utd in that generation is great, but... to win five, six or seven titles in this generation with City is great, but...

"With Leicester, there is no buts. To me, it's the most incredible title that I lived close by."

Ranieri was Mourinho's predecessor as Chelsea manager, leading the Blues at a pivotal time in their history between 2000 and 2004. After managing in Spain, Italy and France, Ranieri was Greece's national team manager before he was brought in as Nigel Pearson's replacement at Leicester City.

After Pearson had achieved a remarkable escape from relegation, Ranieri guided the Foxes to their first and only league title in 2015/16.

Claudio Ranieri won the Premier League with Leicester City. (Image: Alamy)

Leicester won the Premier League with a 10-point gap above Arsenal in second. With Chelsea among the teams falling wildly short of expectations in Leicester's historic title-winning season, Mourinho was dismissed from his second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge in December 2015.

Ranieri was sacked by Leicester in February 2017 with his team of championship winners hovering above the Premier League relegation zone and was replaced by the late Craig Shakespeare.

The 73-year-old added the likes of Fulham, Watford, Nantes and Sampdoria to his CV before returning for a third spell in charge of Roma. Ranieri is still in charge at the Olimpico, where he became the fourth manager of 2024 for the Giallorossi. Mourinho was the first before he was given his marching orders and succeeded by Daniele De Rossi.