Manchester City have signed many players during previous transfer windows under Pep Guardiola.
One particular player City landed a cut-price deal for in recent years is Manuel Akanji, who joined the club back in 2022 from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth £15m.
Having now started his third season with the Blues, the defender has made 99 appearances across all competitions, winning multiple trophies in the process.
Now though, the Switzerland international has shared some insight into what it has been like to work with Guardiola and how his game has developed during his time as a City player.
- Who is Manuel Akanji? Step inside the life of Man City’s £15m bargain defender and maths genius

Manuel Akanji on how Pep Guardiola has changed his game at Man City
When asked in a recent video uploaded to the official Man City YouTube channel what he’s learned the most from working with Guardiola, Akanji had this to say in response.
He said: “I mean a lot of things, I think the most I learned of him is tactically in defending and also playing with the ball.
“But also for me personally, playing in so many different positions that I’m capable of now because when I came here mostly I just played centre-back, either right or left and now I play like five or six different positions for this club.
“So I think that’s the thing I learned most of most of me throughout these years working with him.”
Guardiola has made Akanji an important player for City
This isn’t the first time the defender has spoken highly of his manager, as Akanji said back in May that he has improved massively since working with Guardiola.
Appearing in 48 games across all competitions last season, the 29-year-old predominantly played as a centre-back but was also deployed as a left-back, right-back and defensive-midfielder.
Now that Akanji has highlighted how Guardiola has made him a more versatile player and understands the game more, this highlights how much of a top manager he is.
