Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola is not happy over the consistent criticism he and his team have been facing since Real Madrid knocked them out of the UEFA Champions League campaign. He was forced to compare Manchester City’s inability to win the Champions League despite the tons of investment in his squad to Roma’s inability to qualify for the 2022-2023 Champions League.
Recall that Manchester City was the favorite to win the 2021-2022 UEFA Champions League campaign due to the club’s form and consistency in the tournament in recent years. It was almost looking like it was Manchester City’s time to win the title when they beat Real Madrid 4-3 in the first leg of the semi-final round.
Unfortunately, Real Madrid turned the tie around and defeated Manchester City 3-1 in the second leg of the tie. Pep Guardiola and his boys ended their journey in the tie 6-5 on aggregate.
Guardiola’s failure to win the Champions League at Manchester City has been a big course of concern to most fans of the club. He has tried to win the title six successive times yet, no luck. The closest Manchester City got to winning the Champions League was in the 2020-2021 season in which they got to the final but lost it to Chelsea with a lone goal.
Hence, Jose Mourinho who won the Champions League title twice as the coach of FC Barcelona continues to wait for another opportunity to grab his third. He has been waiting for the opportunity since 2011.
Since 2016 at Manchester City, the coach has reportedly spent around £923 million in recruiting players across the world just to win the Champions League. But the investment has failed to yield results in the continent.
However, the investment has helped Manchester City to become a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League. The club has won the Premier League title three times under coach Pep Guardiola. The Spanish coach is on the verge of helping the club to win the 4th Premier League title in six years.
Ahead of Manchester City’s 35th Premier League game of the season which is against Newcastle United tonight, May 8, 2022, coach Pep Guardiola was reminded of the club’s failure to win the Champions League after so much investment. In his reaction, the coach lamented that if Manchester City had won the Champions League, his critics would not have acknowledged the hard work put into it, they would have said City won the title due to the money spent on the club.
Guardiola went on to drag Jose Mourinho’s Roma into the conversation by noting that the Italian club has spent so much but could not qualify for the Champions League.
“People say that since this team has not managed to win the Champions League then it is a failure. I totally disagree but I accept it, I will not debate who is right or who is wrong”, Pep Guardiola said.
“I’m always hungry, I think every day how lucky and happy I am. I know that the people here are obsessed with the Champions League. The day we win it I’m sure they will say it was because we spent so much money, not for the work behind it.
“For me, it is not a question of money and the fans do not understand it. Roma have also spent a lot of money but they are not in the Champions League.”
Pep Guardiola:
— Sajjad Lattef (@ImSajjadLattef) May 7, 2022
"For me it is not a question of money and the fans do not understand it. ROMA 😳 have also spent a lot of money but they are not in the Champions League."😳
He went crazy after the REMONTADA 😂😂😂😂pic.twitter.com/sMR9J3MAL5
Has Jose Mourinho failed at Roma based on the comment of Pep Guardiola?
During the 2020-2021 season, AS Roma finished on the 7th spot on the league table with 62 points. Due to the club’s poor run, the club decided to bring in Jose Mourinho ahead of the 2021-2022 season.
When Mourinho started his managerial job at the Italian club, he went on a spending spree. He spent around €96.75 million to bring in 9 players across Europe, two on loan, and seven on permanent deals.
The most expensive player Jose Mourinho signed at Roma was Tammy Abraham. Roma paid Chelsea €40 million to bring in the 23-year-old English striker.
Mourinho’s recruitment helped Roma to occupy the 6th spot with 59 points in 35 games, 10 points away from 4th placed Juventus. They have three league games to go which have the possibility of earning the Italian club 9 points. Hence, Roma can no longer make it into the top four this season.
Aside from that, Jose Mourinho has succeeded in guiding Roma to the Europa Conference League final. This is the first time since 1961 that Roma made it into the final of a major football tournament.
Hence, Pep Guardiola’s decision to compare Manchester City’s failure to win the Champions League to Roma’s inability to finish in the top four is not fair. From all indications, Jose Mourinho has not failed at Roma so far.
