Pep Guardiola’s best quotes at Manchester City: “I don’t understand why the club doesn’t spend more”
Apart from being the most successful manager in City’s history, the Spanish coach was always very entertaining when dealing with the press.
Manchester City are going to miss Pep Guardiola - a coach with a brilliant football brain who knows how to motivate his players and squeeze the very best out of them. We still don’t know where he will be heading next or if he is planning to take a sabbatical, but his departure will be a huge loss for the Premier League and the English game.
Guardiola will also be missed by many sports journalists. A passionate coach who always wears his heart on his sleeve, Pep’s responses to questions from the media and his views on the game were always entertaining, honest, occasionally humorous or just plain bizarre.
During his 10 years at City, Guardiola never hid his respect and admiration for rival managers, opponents and players - as well as the ones he has coached throughout his career.
With the news that he will be leaving City at the end of the season, let’s take a look at some of Guardiola’s most memorable quotes:
On Lionel Messi
“Do you know why Messi is the best player I have ever seen in my f**king life? Because he’s a f**king competitor, he’s an animal”.
“Messi is number 9, number 10, number 11, number 7, number 6, number 5, number 4...”
“Nobody can compare with Cristiano and Messi - nobody”.
On Jürgen Klopp
“I will miss him a lot. Jürgen has been a really important part in my life. He took me to a new level as a manager. I think we respect each other incredibly. I just want to say thank you so much for his words. He knows perfectly that behind me there are a lot of things that this club provides me and gives to me. Otherwise, alone, I cannot do it. He helped me as a manager and he helped me with his team. He has been a huge competitor in my life. There were many moments when I couldn’t discover a way to punish them like I could with other teams. With him it was so difficult. He put his stamp on Liverpool. People like him are personalities, when they arrive, they stay, forever. Jürgen is up there with Shankly and Paisley, those incredible legends”.
When quizzed about his tactics
“Sky, I’m going to tell you something. When the day arrives that we lose a game, you will ask me if I miss the striker... I bet you whatever you want”.
“In football, the worst things are excuses”.
“If Phil Foden has to play as a central defender, he will play as a central defender”.
City’s transfer spending
“I’m a little bit sad and upset because in net spend the last five years we are seventh in the Premier League. I want to be the first, I don’t understand why the club don’t spend more money. I am a little bit grumpy with them. But, like we won in the past because we spent a lot, now six teams have to win the Premier Leagues, Champions Leagues and FA Cups because they spent more in the last five years”.
Expectations in Europe
“I am a failure in the Champions League. If win the Champions League three times in a row I will be a failure. Even if I win the Champions League it will not compare for the fact that Julia Roberts came to see Manchester and didn’t come to see us.”
A mysterious scratch on his nose
“With my finger, here, with my nail. I want to harm myself!”
Reporter: “We saw tonight, we saw against Chelsea at the weekend, it looks like you’ve got your mojo back?”
Guardiola: “Er, who?”
His future after losing the Premier League title to Arsenal
“I am the happiest man in the planet to be at this club, this club is just extraordinary. At the moment the season is over for us, we want to arrive in the last game with our fans but I know they will come. In 10 seasons they have been good in many, many moments and that is what we have to do until the end.”
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