Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Pep Guardiola is the best manager to ever take charge of a football team in history.
The Manchester City manager has the chance of winning the treble tonight if his side beat Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
Looking ahead to this big match, which could see the Spaniard win his first Champions League trophy since 2011, one pundit has made a big claim about the 52-year-old’s status.
Ferdinand labels Guardiola as the best
Speaking to BT Sport ahead of the final in Istanbul, Ferdinand said this about Guardiola.
He said: “We’ve played this game for so many years and we know how hard it is to get to the top but not only get there but to stay there and what Pep’s doing, the style of football that he’s playing and how he’s transcended the game and changes the game as and when it suits him, you can’t do anything but respect greatness like that.
“He doesn’t even need this trophy, but it would really shut up a lot of people that are chatting some stupidness about how he needs this to be considered great.
“I genuinely think he’s the best coach of a football team that I’ve ever, ever seen in my lifetime.”
After winning two Champions League titles during his time in charge of Barcelona, beating Manchester United in the 2009 and 2011 finals, Guardiola then managed to get his City side to the 2021 final where they lost to Chelsea.
Having now won his fifth Premier League title in six years and second FA Cup, the City boss will undoubtedly want to see his side complete the treble and announce themselves officially as the best team in Europe.
Given the silverware he’s won throughout his managerial career, it’s easy to see why Ferdinand has such a high opinion of him, especially considering he was coached by Alex Ferguson, who won his fair share of trophies, for a significant period of his playing career.
However, with Ferdinand and others claiming that Guardiola changed football and how it can be played, this is what puts him a step ahead of his peers, in our view.
Moving forward, we feel that regardless of tonight’s result in Istanbul, the City manager will still be considered as the best coach around.
