Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has had the pleasure of managing some of the greatest players to have ever graced the English game.
One of them is Kevin De Bruyne, who drew praise from Xavi as City’s very own Lionel Messi as he was arguably their biggest difference-maker for almost a decade.
Meanwhile, De Bruyne was a huge admirer of David Silva, another stalwart who will be eternally remembered for how outstanding he was in the Premier League.
The good news for Pep Guardiola is that he is currently managing some players at City who could go down as Premier League greats as well.
Pep Guardiola vowed Man City would not even sell Phil Foden for £432m
Names like Erling Haaland, Rodri and Phil Foden instantly spring to mind.
Pep Guardiola has always rated Foden highly and while Haaland and Rodri are bona fide superstars, Sky Blues fans would be hoping that the 25-year-old certainly goes down as a City legend — as the club’s standout academy graduate.
In 2019, Guardiola promised the English giants would not sell for £432 million in his book, Pep’s City: The Making of a Superteam’, with Manchester City’s official website covering an excerpt from the book, which read: “We didn’t give Foden a new contract by accident.”
“He is the only player that can’t be sold under any circumstances, the only one. Not even for €500 million (£432 million).”
With Foden being a boyhood Manchester City fan while coming through the ranks, Pep Guardiola stressed that he would not be sold as he embodies the club, saying: “Phil’s going nowhere, Phil is City. We won’t be signing anyone else for that [attacking midfield] position.”
Kevin De Bruyne made a bold prediction about Phil Foden’s career
Considering the Englishman was just 19 at the time, the Catalan manager’s claim would have delighted him.
Much like Pep Guardiola, De Bruyne admires Foden as well, tipping the midfielder to write his name into the history books for over a decade.
In April last year, the Belgian claimed: “He is one of the greatest talents I have played with. He can make football history for the next 15 years.”
