Pep Guardiola met the media for the first time on Friday since officially taking up his post as Manchester City boss.
Here are five of the key messages from this press conference.
- Mourinho rivalry
On renewing his rivalry with old adversary and new Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, Guardiola said: “I think Jose said it pretty well that it is not about him or me. What I saw from the distance is it is so tough to win the games here. We played many times against each other. I can say, they help me, the big coaches, and Jose is one of them, they help me to reach another level.”
- Hart and Sterling criticism
Joe Hart and Raheem Sterling were both blamed for England’s woeful showing at the 2016 European Championship but the Spanish coach thinks otherwise.
“They were criticised when they (England) lost. When they lost it does not depend on Sterling but I am curious. I am looking forward to working with him to try to help him, to show him how good a player he is and not just him, Joe Hart and the other English players.”
- Yaya Toure saga
On his reported unrecognisable difference with Yaya Toure, he revealed: “I know Yaya for a long time. He did very, very well in Barcelona and here as well. He’s a huge, huge talent. Of course all the players that are here count on me. After that, we will see what happens in the future, not just in the case of Yaya. Yaya’s here, I count on him.”
- Fresh faces
On adding further new signings after already acquiring Ilkay Gundogan, Nolito and Oleksandr Zinchenko, he said: “All the clubs in the world try to make the best squads possible. I’m sorry, here is maybe not the right place to talk about new players, for respect for the players, for the other clubs. We are going to try to move a little bit the squad, we are going to try.”
- Kompany’s role
Skipper, Vincent Kompany, has constantly been plagued by injuries but his new manager is sure aware of his qualities.
“(People in) England know his quality maybe better than me. My dream for Vincent Kompany is to be fit. Especially in the last two years, he’s played not too many games. The captain has a lot of experience, he’s a magnificent central defender but he has to be fit. “
