
Manchester City Pep Guardiola has repeatedly admitted privately that his successes at the Etihad would be more notable if he was in charge of Manchester United.
The stunning revelation came after the Spaniard hit out at his employers and City fans following their sensational comeback against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday.
In the second half, Guardiola’s men battled back from a two-goal deficit and eventually ran out 4-2 winners at the Etihad.
After goals from Dejan Kuluszewski and Emerson Royal in the first half, City retired to the break to raucous boos from the fans.
In the second half, a resurgent City scored four goals thanks to Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland and a brace from Riyad Mahrez.
An enthusiastic Guardiola could not be contained during his post-match media engagements.
He criticized City fans for their reaction during the game and said he only heard Tottenham fans cheering their team.
Guardiola noted that perhaps everyone at the club had become too comfortable and complacent in their winning ways and era of success.
The 52-year-old footballer called for a reaction not only from his players and members of the club, but also from the fans themselves.
According to Miguel Delaney, Guardiola had previously admitted privately that his achievements would have generated more publicity and gained more significance if they had been achieved across the city.
Delaney reports: “Guardiola is known to have personally remarked how much more remarkable his successes would have been had they been at Manchester United.
“During his time at City there were many moments where he publicly struggled with the image of the club. He often spoke of the fans, as he did on Thursday, and just as often compared City as a whole to huge clubs like Barcelona and Bayern.
“Then the media itself had a question why his Premier League champions were praised no more. At least in part, that’s the same reason there were boos on Thursday, which he clearly didn’t like.