Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is responsible for developing some of the finest players the game has ever seen.
The Spaniard is, in the eyes of many, the greatest manager in football history, and has an excellent track record when it comes to improving players and allowing them to become the best versions of themselves.
His Barcelona team is one of the greatest in history, and Pep turned the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets into absolute world-beaters.
He then moved to Bayern Munich, where he shaped the likes of Philipp Lahm and Joshua Kimmich.
Pep has enjoyed an incredible time as manager of Manchester City and he has again developed many players into superstars at the Etihad Stadium.
But currently, there is one young player in City’s squad who might just go on to become one of Pep’s greatest-ever player projects
Rico Lewis is enjoying a stunning rise at Manchester City
Rico Lewis made his debut as a 17-year for City at the start of the 2022/23 season.
The right-back instantly looked a player with major promise, and he actually managed to feature a fair bit during his breakthrough campaign.
He was preferred to Joao Cancelo, who left the club mid-season to join Bayern Munich on loan after reportedly reacting negatively to losing his place. Cancelo, of course, is no longer a City player after being sold to Al-Hilal in the summer.
Lewis built up his minutes more last season, making 27 appearances across all competitions.
This season, Lewis has been very much in favour with Pep, and has made eight appearances already.
He started the season in the team after Kyle Walker returned back late after his involvement with England at Euro 2024.
Lewis has pretty much shone every time he has stepped out onto the pitch for City this season, meaning Walker will potentially have to get used to the bench a bit more this term.
After City’s 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday night, Pep once again raved over Lewis, who had starred.
He stated that he had ‘no words’ for how good Lewis is currently playing and that he ‘does everything’.
It is so clear now that Pep adores Lewis and all that he brings to the table.
The role he plays now, inverting into midfield from right-back, but also pushing up to the edge of the box to provide an attacking threat, is so complex.
But he makes it look absolutely easy, which is a testament to his incredible footballing intelligence and tactical understanding.
As former England manager Gareth Southgate said last November after Lewis made his Three Lions debut against North Macedonia, he is ‘unique’. Lewis’ City teammate Phil Foden also said that he was ‘such an intelligent footballer for a young age’.
Rico Lewis could become one of Pep Guardiola’s best-ever player development projects
- READ MORE: Who is Rico Lewis? The Man City prodigy who is one of the best Pep Guardiola has ever trained
It is so rare for a player this young to be this good.
Some actually forget that Lewis is actually still only 19 years of age, given the astonishing maturity with which he plays.
It is crazy to think that Lewis will not actually reach his peak in football for another 10 years or so. By that time, he could easily be one of the best players on the planet.
It is still fairly early days for Lewis in his career. But very possibly, with the way he is going, he could go on to become one of the finest players Pep will ever develop.
There is every chance, given all we’ve seen so far, that at the end of his career, Lewis will be mentioned alongside the likes of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Lahm, and Phil Foden as one of the best players the Spaniard has ever developed.
The only thing he needs to do is to look after himself. If he can steer clear of major injuries, there is no doubt he will go right to the very top.
He has the mentality, he has the intelligence, he has the quality and he is a generational talent.
