Garth Crooks believes Pep Guardiola should be “careful” regarding how he treats Kevin De Bruyne.
Micah Richards claimed that the 32-year-old threw his arms up after City’s press failed to work as it was supposed to in their 1-1 draw against Liverpool and due to his reaction, he feels Guardiola may have decided to substitute him to make a statement.
However, Richards also stated that the way the Catalan tactician decided to console De Bruyne by sitting next to him on the bench is something he has never seen him do when taking off a player before.
Garth Crooks warns Pep Guardiola to be “careful” about how he treats Kevin De Bruyne
Unsurprisingly, the £54 million (The Telegraph) man infuriated reaction towards Guardiola after his substitution on Sunday has made headlines ever since, considering he is one of the biggest names in football.
The same occurs every time the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo have reacted similarly in the past.
Now, Garth Crooks has warned Pep Guardiola to do a better job in how he treats Kevin De Bruyne.
“Pep Guardiola exchanging words with [Kevin] De Bruyne, having brought the Belgium international off the pitch in a tactical change, did not go down well and clearly the player was far from happy with the manager’s decision. Guardiola needs to be careful – De Bruyne can walk into almost any team in the world but John Stones can’t”, he said on BBC Sport.
Pep Guardiola need not be apologetic about his decision
Ultimately, if Pep Guardiola felt it was time for Kevin De Bruyne to be hooked off against Liverpool, he has no reason to regret his decision in our view, regardless of Garth Crooks’ suggestion.
To not make such big decisions just because De Bruyne is a massive figure at City would set a poor precedent amongst the players at the club.
Football is a meritocracy and the best way for Pep Guardiola to maintain a winning culture at Manchester City is to make such calls to send the message that no player has a free pass to stay on the pitch at all times, irrespective of their performance on the day.
