Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte find themselves in a bitter tit-for-tat feud once again, with neither manager showing any willingness to back down.

The relationship between the managers of Manchester United and Chelsea has never been an easy one, but the insults are growing increasingly hostile.

Dailymail.co.uk take a closer look at their latest war of words and decipher what each manager actually meant by what they said.

The Background
The hostility between Mourinho and Conte flared up when Chelsea thrashed United 4-0 at Stamford Bridge in October 2016.

Mourinho’s frustration at the result boiled over at the final whistle when he suggested to Conte that his exuberant celebrations had ‘humiliated’ him.

Italian television reported that Mourinho told Conte: ‘You don’t celebrate like that at 4-0, you can do it at 1-0, otherwise it’s humiliating for us.’

As Chelsea raced towards the Premier League title, Mourinho backed them to win it as early as February but couldn’t resist a barb about the Blues being too ‘defensive’ in doing so.

“Chelsea are a very good defensive team,’ he said. ‘I think in this situation a very defensive team wins the title with counter-attack goals and set-piece goals.’

The two teams were drawn together in the FA Cup a month later, with Chelsea winning 1-0 at Stamford Bridge thanks to N’Golo Kante’s goal, after Ander Herrera was sent off for two yellow cards picked up for tackles on Eden Hazard.

Conte was livid, accusing Mourinho of a deliberate tactic to kick the Belgian: ‘A tactic to play and go to kick an opponent? It’s not football for me.’

Former Chelsea manager Mourinho was called ‘Judas’ by a section of the crowd but he defended his record. ‘When they have somebody that wins four Premier Leagues for them, I become No 2. Until this moment Judas is No 1.’

As Chelsea closed in on the title, Conte aimed a dig at Mourinho for United’s spending after they splashed out over £150m only to finish sixth in the league. His comments were also aimed at Man City boss Pep Guardiola.

The Italian said: ‘This season it’s very important to understand that it’s not always about who spends more money who wins.
“This season isn’t the only season both Manchester clubs have spent a lot of money.’

Over the summer, Chelsea’s focus turned to their title defence, with Conte all-too-aware that the last time they were reigning champions, under Mourinho, the following season was a disaster.

“We know the difficulty of the next season and for sure we want to avoid the Mourinho season with Chelsea. Two years ago the team ended the league in 10th place and we want to try to avoid this,’ said Conte.

When these comments were put to Mourinho, he responded with a very curious comment about Conte’s hair, which was receding towards the end of his playing days but is now flourishing thanks to various transplants.

“I could answer in many different ways,’ said Mourinho. “But I’m not going to lose my hair to speak about Antonio Conte.’

This season, there was a skirmish back in October when Mourinho accused Conte of ‘crying’ when his team had too many injuries, with the Chelsea boss telling Mourinho to mind his own business.

January 4
A New Year, but clearly no Mourinho resolution to be nicer to his peers.

The United manager is previewing their FA Cup third round tie with Derby County when he reignites the feud. Asked whether he still had the passion for the job having cut an increasingly frustrated figure in the dug-out, Mourinho hit back.

What he said: “Because I don’t behave as a clown on the touchline it means I lost my passion? “I prefer to do it the way I do it. Much more mature, better for my team and myself.

“You don’t have to behave like a crazy guy on the touchline. “The way a person is dedicated to his work, not what you do in front of the cameras.’

What he meant: Mourinho may or may not have had Conte in mind when he made the ‘clown’ comments, but no rival manager was mentioned by name.

The Italian is known for his animated touchline manner and for running up and down the touchline to celebrate goals. He often almost loses his voice from shouting too much during matches.

Yet Mourinho could also have been referrring to the Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who is also energetic in urging his players on from the technical area.

Or he could have been talking about Man City boss Guardiola, who can also be highly animated and overstep the mark, as shown especially by his ‘Pep talk’ to Southampton’s Nathan Redmond recently.

January 5
The following day at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground and Conte is previewing their FA Cup trip to Norwich City on Saturday evening. He is asked about Mourinho’s ‘clown’ remarks and launches into an angry tirade against his rival.

What he said: “I think he has to see himself in the past, maybe he was speaking about himself in the past, yeah?

“Maybe sometimes, someone forgets what they said or his behaviour and sometimes I think there is, I don’t know the name, demenza senile, when you are a bit [taps the side of his head].’

What he meant: Conte was asked to clarify what he meant by ‘demenza senile’ and he turned to his fellow Italian coach and former goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini for help with the translation.

Cudicini said: ‘It is like amnesia, when you can’t remember things.’