Jurgen Klopp was irritated enough to take a swipe at Guardiola before his side's Champions League match against Genk, and Mane spoke out after the 2-1 victory on Tuesday.
Mane has been brought down for penalties against Leicester and Tottenham in the past month, while he was also booked after going down in the area against Aston Villa five days ago.
He made the most of Frederic Guilbert's challenge but replays showed there had been some contact.
When asked about Guardiola — who has subsequently offered an apology of sorts — Mane gave a wry smile.
It was, he felt, a ploy from City's manager to put him in the mind of this weekend's match official, Michael Oliver, but the 27-year-old says the scrutiny will not make any difference to how he performs.
'It's a bit clever from him to get the attention of the referee,' said Mane, whose form in 2019 has been outstanding.
'I will just play my football like I'm always doing. I don't pay attention to what he's saying.
'Does it give me extra motivation? No. Even though I saw him commenting about it, what he said, for me, I think it's positive.
'I will be ready to give everything possible, and to help my team. I fit could be a penalty, for sure I will dive again.
'If the dive will give me a penalty, then I will do it to get it back! Why not? But what Jurgen said is correct. I do not dive. At Aston Villa, there was contact. Maybe it was not a penalty and the referee (Jon Moss) didn't give it. He gave me a yellow card.
'I don't have any problem about it. We have seen many people, some diving and get penalties, some (deserved) a penalty and the referee didn't give it.
'That's football. You have to deal with it. It's what I want to keep doing.
"If I get a penalty, yeah, it's a penalty. If no penalty, no penalty — but I won't change the way I play.'
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