Frank Leboeuf has said that Pep Guardiola would be outdoing Erik ten Hag if he were the current manager of Manchester United.
The pundit was quizzed on ESPN FC’s official podcast about how the Manchester City boss would be faring if he was running the ship at Old Trafford.
Frank Leboeuf says Pep Guardiola would be doing a much better job than Erik ten Hag at Manchester United
Described as “ruthless” by Thierry Henry on The Rest Is Football podcast, the Spaniard is one of, if not the best manager in the world.
Jamie Carragher went as far as to claim in June this year that the 52-year-old has a genuine claim for being regarded as the “greatest coach of all time” after he won the Champions League with Manchester City.
Frank Leboeuf believes that Manchester United would currently be in a much better position if Pep Guardiola was in charge of the club instead of Erik ten Hag.
“With all the respect for [Erik] ten Hag, I would say that they would be in a better position for one reason. [Pep] Guardiola won the respect of any player and that’s the thing. He’s the boss and that’s why it works for City”, he said on ESPN’s official podcast.
“People listen to him and the [Jadon] Sancho thing would’ve never happened, for example, because Sancho would’ve known that he couldn’t do that and he would’ve been punished, heavily punished.”
Frank Leboeuf also pinpointed how Pep Guardiola would command the respect he believes Erik ten Hag may not be getting at Manchester United.
“So, when you have Guardiola as a coach, you know that the guy is a legend. As a football player but [also] as a coach. And when you win Champions League after Champions League, titles after titles, you get the respect from the others. It’s why maybe Ten Hag doesn’t have [the respect] right now because of his past, which is of course not as big as Guardiola.”
“So, I think if Guardiola was the coach of Manchester United, they would be in a much better position, people will go for it, listen to him and will shut up”, Leboeuf concluded.
Pep Guardiola would be thriving in the red side of Manchester as well
It’s fair to assume that most fans and pundits would side with Frank Leboeuf about his prediction regarding Pep Guardiola managing Manchester United.
The Catalan’s one-of-a-kind tactical ingenuity, track record of improving players and habit of winning trophies are traits that would have made him the dream coach for a club aiming to return to the top of the tree.
With Pep Guardiola seemingly improving as a manager as time passes by and perhaps one of the few in the history of the game that can be mentioned in the same breath as Sir Alex Ferguson, he would likely have single-handedly changed the Red Devils’ fortunes upon his arrival.
Glady from a Manchester City perspective, Guardiola seems to be sky blue through and through and looks set to further cement his enviable legacy at the Etihad Stadium.
