Mourinho: My fights with Guardiola will not get in way of Man United winning Premier League
Old Trafford boss insists bitter feud will not carry over from La Liga because it could lead to another team landing the title
JOSE MOURINHO insists he will not let his "battles" with Pep Guardiola get in the way of Manchester United winning the Premier League next season.
The Old Trafford boss and incoming Man City manager had a fierce rivalry when they were slugging it out in La Liga.
But Mourinho believes were that to continue in England then it would allow another team to gatecrash their title bids.
City will start next season as favourites to snatch Leicester's crown - with United the second favourites.
And Mourinho wants it to stay a straight war between the two - even if it means ending his rivalry with the ex-Barcelona boss.
Former Real Madrid manager Mourinho said: "My experience does not allow me to be naive.
"I was in Spain for two years, where the champion would be me or him.
"There, individual battles make more sense because they can affect the outcome. If in the Premier League I were to focus on him and Manchester City and he were to focus on me and Manchester United, someone else would be champion.
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"The level of the Premier League is going to get better with the players and coaches who will come.
"Four champions in four years shows how competitive it is, and also says a lot about the television rights and its distribution, which will allow the growth of the league and all its teams.
";It is different to other leagues where the sharks will always be sharks."
Mourinho was speaking at Lisbon University where he was giving a lecture.
He remained tight-lipped on the possible signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and refused to discuss any potential targets.
However, the Special One did state he would not bring any player from Portugal to Manchester.
That would appear to end his interest in Sporting midfielder Joao Mario, paving the way for Chelsea to snap him up.