Pep Guardiola instructs Baby Coach Erig Ten Hag to bench Manchester United poorest player on the field, who was worse than Harry Maguire and Sancho, since Man City will humiliate the Devils if he starts against them at the Ethihad Stadium
Pep Guardiola is tough. Man United snub with stunning Manchester derby statement
Manchester City travel to Old Trafford on Sunday to face Erik ten Hag’s side, with Pep Guardiola stating that Liverpool, not United, are his team’s main rivals.
Pep Guardiola has delivered the ultimate derby day snub by claiming that Manchester United are not Manchester City’s main opponent.
Guardiola has transformed City into Europe’s most dominant force, while the Reds have endured a remarkable fall from grace and are now wallowing in mid-table.
Sir Alex Ferguson once stated that the Blues could never be considered a threat since his Manchester United squad was the only serial winner in town.
Guardiola acknowledged that Ferguson’s judgement was correct, but claimed that during his eight seasons at the Etihad, he never saw United as a real competitor.
“When I finish my tenure here, Liverpool will have been my rivals and our rivals,” Guardiola told the press. “They pushed us and helped us become a better team in all departments.”
“They’ve pushed us like no other team has in my time here.”
“There was one year with Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] that was quite close – but overall it has been Liverpool.”
While Ferguson’s Manchester United won 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues, the Blues were relegated to League One and lasted 35 years without winning a trophy.
“Sir Alex was correct, City were not challengers,” Guardiola remarked. Without the presence of (owner) Sheikh Mansour and (chairman) Khaldoon, who took over and invested, United and Arsenal were the richest, which is why they were present.
“Sir Alex Ferguson could not have predicted what happened at the time, and I felt the same way when I was in Barcelona.”
“But this is reality, and we want to stay as long as possible.”
“We were not part of the elite. But now we are among the elite, which may be unsettling for them (United). We’re there now and hope to be there in the future.”
