Fernandinho has claimed Pep Guardiola purposely rejected the chance to sign Kevin De Bruyne at Bayern just so he could work with him at Manchester City.
As De Bruyne was tearing the Bundesliga up at VFL Wolfsburg, he became one of the hottest names in German football and as a result, many expected him to join the Bavarian giants.
Such has been the case with the likes of Manuel Neuer and Leon Goretzka at Schalke and of course, Mario Goetze, who was at Borussia Dortmund before making the move to the Allianz Arena in 2013.
However, Kevin De Bruyne decided to return to England soon after his torrid spell at Chelsea came to an end by signing for Manchester City instead of signing for the German side, whom he was heavily linked with at the time.
Fernandinho says Pep Guardiola rejected chance to sign Kevin De Bruyne at Bayern to work with him at Manchester City
Pundits like Paul Merson were extremely critical of City’s decision to fork out a £54 million (The Mirror) fee to sign him in 2015; criticism the Arsenal legend has since apologised for and taken back.
However, Fernandinho has revealed that Pep Guardiola was aware that he was joining Manchester City and as a result, he ensured that Bayern did not sign Kevin De Bruyne so that he could manage him at the Etihad Stadium.
“He [Pep Guardiola] was at Bayern and [Kevin] De Bruyne was at Wolfsburg. The Bayern scouting department says, ‘We’re looking at this kid, what do you think about bringing him here?’ Pep says, ‘No, no, no, I don’t want him, I don’t think he’ll fit into our team’ A year passes, De Bruyne goes to City”, he said on the Podcast Denilson Show.
“Another year passes, Guardiola arrives at City. Got it? The guy knew he was going to City and sent De Bruyne there.”
Of course, during De Bruyne’s debut season for the Sky Blues in the 2015/2016 campaign, he worked with Pellegrini at the time before Guardiola’s arrival from Bayern the next year.
Masterstroke from Pep Guardiola
Ultimately, Fernandinho and several other of his former Manchester City teammates would thank Pep Guardiola for playing such a masterstroke as Kevin De Bruyne played a massive role in all their successes at the club.
Evidently, Guardiola was aware that De Bruyne was a superstar in the making and he simply could not pass up on the opportunity to coach him at City and as they say, the rest is history.
Amongst all the incredible tactical decisions the Catalan has made during his career, none may top this very call.
