'Pep Guardiola Is Not The Best Coach In The World... Jose Mourinho Is' - Aitor Karanka

·         Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka worked with Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid

·         Boro play Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday

·         Karanka believes Guardiola must win the Premier League to prove he is the best

·         Middlesbrough came away with a 1-1 draw at the Etihad in November

Aitor Karanka has taunted opposite number Pep Guardiola by claiming he is not even the best boss in Manchester - and says he must win the Premier League before he can be compared to Jose Mourinho.

Middlesbrough entertain Guardiola’s Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-final Saturday lunchtime and it appears there is no love lost between the managers.

Karanka won the Champions League three times as a player with Real Madrid - and was later assistant to Mourinho at the Bernabeu - and is a long-time adversary of Barcelona legend Guardiola.

And the Boro boss said: 'Guardiola is not the best coach in the world - the best coach in the world is Jose Mourinho.

‘He has shown it at Porto, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United. He was the best (in Spain) and he still is the best.

‘I’ve never worked with Pep, but Jose started this season with some criticism, but he has already won two trophies for Man United. Jose is the best for me.’

City are 10 points behind league leaders Chelsea and Guardiola has as good as conceded the title.

Karanka, though, believes his compatriot has under-estimated the English league and says doubts still remain about his managerial ability.

‘I think he needs to win the Premier League (to prove he is one of the best),’ he said.

‘This now is his toughest job, he has (previously) taken over at clubs who were already very strong.

‘He has shown he can win titles in Spain with Barcelona and with Bayern Munich in Germany, and he probably thought he would do the same in England.

‘But now I think he has realised that this is a different football, a different league, he has realised how difficult the challenge is.

‘It’s difficult when you arrive in a new country, with a new philosophy. He has some very good players, but the mentality here is different, the players are different and it takes time to adjust.

‘When you have a squad like that, it is difficult to manage. It is taking him some time, it is not easy for him.’