Jose Mourinho started the feud with Antonio Conte when he suggested the Chelsea boss and Jurgen Klopp were ‘clowns’ for celebrating on the touchline at games.

Conte took offence to the remark and claimed Mourinho was suffering from ‘senile dementia’ - forgetting the way he himself had celebrated over the years.

The Manchester United manager then bit back with a match-fixing jibe, referencing Conte’s time in charge of Siena.

And the Italian has now taken the argument one step further, branding the Manchester United manager a ‘little man’ for his most recent comments.

"I think when there are these types of comments, the comments you try to offend the person and don't know the truth then you are a little man,” Conte said after Chelsea’s goalless draw with Norwich.

“He was a little man in the past, a little man in the present and maybe a little man in the future.

"I think when you try to hurt a person, especially if you know very well the truth of what happens - the court proved my innocence - when you do this it means you are a little man. 

“But this is not the first time.

“He does this in the past and he continues to do this in the present and when you are in this way you will continue to be in this way."

Mourinho’s jibe was referencing Conte’s four-month suspension while at Juventus for failing to report match-fixing at his previous club Siena.

The Chelsea boss was later cleared of any wrongdoing in the matter in 2016 but the United boss seized on the opportunity to rake up old ground this week.

“The only thing I want to say to end the story is that yes, I made mistakes in the past on the touchline,” Mourinho said after United’s 2-0 win over Derby.

“Yes, I will make less but I think I will still make a few.

"What never happened to me - and will never happen - is to be suspended for match-fixing. 

“That never happened to me and will never happen."