Pep Guardiola, the coach of Manchester City, has explained why he traded several of his players to a rival team before the 22/23 season.
Manchester City’s summer in terms of outgoings this window has been somewhat unusual. Over the past month, the City residents have lost Raheem Sterling, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Gabriel Jesus.
In the transfer window, the defending Premier League champions are never often a “selling team,”, especially to other Premier League clubs. Pep Guardiola has nevertheless disclosed the reasons why the trio all left the team to rival clubs this summer.
The City manager reportedly stated that he would have preferred to have all three players at the club but they all left in quest of more consistent playing time.
Guardiola said in a statement to the Manchester Evening News: “No (the outgoings weren’t guaranteed) because I was incredibly happy with Gabriel, Oleks, and Raheem, if they stayed longer there would be no problem. They proved last year how good they are.
“But sometimes the players want more, and the club feel it is the right moment to do it. But the most important thing is they leave happy with the club and what they have done.
“Chelsea and Arsenal have paid the money that is fair. And the discussions were perfect, Txiki (Begiristain) told me. Good for both sides and really friendly.”
Guardiola continued by describing how each of the three former City players possesses a quality that the manager seeks in a new hire. He clarified: “Finding out if he is a kind guy is one of the things I am trying to do.
“I don’t like to work much with guys who are not nice. When you have a locker room and the chemistry is good, that is worth more than hours of tactics.
“This summer we have bought some exceptional people. And the rest, we are all acquainted. And we are sad because Raheem, Gabriel and Oleks were incredibly beloved. Since I arrived in Manchester, the chemistry has been incredible. It works out well for me.”
The City manager will be hoping that the departure of three “beloved” players doesn’t have a significant impact on the mood in the locker room.
However, the squad’s three significant losses should be somewhat mitigated by the additions of players with strong characters, such as Erling Haaland and Kalvin Phillips.
Other pundits, however, have different opinions regarding Pep Guardiola’s decision to offload the players that helped him win the title last season.
According to Roy Keane and Ian Wright, Pep Guardiola sold Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling to Chelsea and Arsenal because he is not concerned about them this Premier League season.
“He [Guardiola] probably doesn’t see these clubs – certainly Arsenal – as a threat. The big worry at the moment is trying to keep ahead of Liverpool FC. Liverpool and Manchester City are so far ahead of the other teams.” – Roy Keane said.
“Man City are able to pass those players on, whether it’s to Chelsea, a direct competitor, or Arsenal trying to be a direct competitor because they’re not worried about people or what they can do.” – Ian Wright noted.
