branded Mauricio Pochettino's withering attack a mistake and claimed he has never disrespected Tottenham Hotspur.
Pochettino launched an astonishing tirade towards the manager on Friday, after he was infuriated by Guardiola labelling Spurs 'the team' following the Etihad club's victory against Chelsea.
Tottenham's boss had been stewing over that remark during the international break and Guardiola passionately defended his comments.
'I think Mauricio has made a mistake,' Guardiola said. 'I'm really disappointed if he said that. Never in my career have I not been respectful.
'Maybe I can answer when someone attacks my team or my club, but never would I be disrespectful about Mauricio or Tottenham.
'From the times I spoke with him, maybe my English is not so well, but I was never disrespectful to my colleague. I was never disrespectful in a press conference. Never.
'When I said about Harry Kane's team, it was because Harry Kane was scoring a lot of goals, and I know perfectly that Tottenham are not Harry Kane alone.
'I spoke many times to Mauricio. If he believes this, maybe I should say Pochettino's team when I said Harry Kane's team, but I said it because he scored two goals against Huddersfield and a goal for the national team and another goal for the national team.'
'I think the guy who spoke most about appreciating the way Tottenham play was me,' Guardiola added. 'When they lost against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, I said it was incredible, because Chelsea had four shots on target and scored four goals.
'He knows I said Tottenham are one of the best teams playing. I respect a lot what Tottenham have done in the last two or three years.
-dailymail