Roberto Mancini lost his temper today after being quizzed about his links with Monaco and demanded more respect for ending Manchester City’s long wait for a trophy.
Last week, Mancini did not deny reports that he spoke to the French club earlier this year and said he was “close to seven or eight teams”.
That remark has been interpreted differently, with the manager giving no indication as to whether he was joking about the speculation or whether he really had spoken to several other clubs.
At a press conference to preview tomorrow night’s Champions League clash with Ajax, the Monaco issue was brought up again.
And that infuriated Mancini, who banged his fist on the table as he said: “I don’t understand why you continue to ask me about last year, last month. This is finished.
“Why? Why, for which reason? Why do you continue to ask me, ‘Last year you had a chance to go’?
“I stay here because my work is here. I worked for two years. I built with the chairman and the owner, this team. We won three trophies in two years. For 50 years we didn’t win. Never.”
City’s FA Cup triumph in 2011 was actually the club’s first trophy in 35 years and Mancini followed that up with the Community Shield and then the Premier League title, their first top-flight crown since 1968.
Mancini signed a five-year contract extension in the summer but speculation about his future continues.
He said: “I decided to stay at City because I’ve worked hard for the time I’ve been here.
“The future will be easy because when you have a new team the strong work is the first few years when you need to build your team.
“But we won three trophies in two years. I think you should have respect for this, for me, for the club, for the players. I don’t understand why every time we talk about this.”
