Ole Gunnar Solskjaer taunted Manchester City ahead of Saturday's derby clash by claiming they will never be as big as Manchester United.
City have won five of the last 10 Premier League titles, including three in the last four seasons, and are the favourites to retain their crown this term.
Pep Guardiola's side are also favourites to win at Old Trafford today and pile the pressure back on Solskjaer and his United players.
United have not been crowned champions since 2013 in Sir Alex Ferguson's final season and have been upstaged by their "noisy neighbours" as Ferguson dubbed them.
Ferguson famously said “not in my lifetime” when asked if City would ever eclipse United, with Solskjaer in agreement with his former boss.
Asked if he felt City could ever eclipse United, Solskjaer said: “No, I can't see it.
“You have to have respect for what they've done in the last 10 years, even more so in the last four or five, with how dominant they've been in England and in Europe.
“But we're Manchester United, we're always going to come back. I think we're the No.1 club in Manchester and that also probably means in the world.”
Despite their current struggles, United reaffirmed their pulling power by snatching Cristiano Ronaldo from under the noses of City, to bring him back to Old Trafford.
Asked how he would have felt had Ronaldo been walking out in the blue of City today, instead of the red of United, Solskjaer said: “The good thing is that would never happen and there's no chance of that happening.
“I'm happy he's wearing the red and hopefully he can be the difference again.
“He's one of the best players that's ever walked on this planet and his impact on and off the pitch has been absolutely immense,” said Solskjaer.
“The way he conducts himself, he scores goals, works for his team, and is a top, top pro. How people can say that's a negative, I can't see that one.”
