Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has lightheartedly admitted that he agrees with claims that he only won the Champions League because of his incredible Barcelona squad.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest ever managers, Guardiola lifted the Champions League with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011, with the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi in his squad. However, he has failed to replicate this success with Bayern Munich or Manchester City, with many fans claiming his triumphs are only due to his star-studded Barcelona squad.
Guardiola on the old "fraud" accusations, namely that he only won the Champions League because of Messi and the lads. I've kept the question in because fair play to the lad, it was delivered excellently. NB I don't think Guardiola believes this pic.twitter.com/A685Uwqvw6
— Sam Lee (@Sammy_Goal) February 19, 2019
Speaking in a press conference ahead of City's Champions League clash with Schalke, Guardiola joined in with these accusations. He is quoted by Goal journalist Sam Lee as saying: "
"I'm not going to argue with you for one second, because when I was there I said many times I win because of these incredible players.
"But I had [incredible players] in Munich as well, in Manchester as well, but in Barcelona I was a lucky guy. I'm sorry, I was lucky. I agree with them."
Guardiola's Barcelona side are heralded as one of the finest club teams in the history of football. Alongside the aforementioned trio, Guardiola could call upon the likes of Carles Puyol, David Villa and Thierry Henry, as he enjoyed a period of European dominance at Camp Nou.
However, since leaving Barcelona, Guardiola is yet to reach a Champions League final. He was unable to steer Bayern past the semi-final stage, whilst his deepest run in the competition with City ended in the quarter-finals last season as the Citizens came unstuck against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.
Despite his struggles in Europe's premier competition, Guardiola has enjoyed an astounding amount of success. He guided his Bayern side to seven trophies, winning the Bundesliga title in each of his three years in Germany, before leading City to three trophies in his two full seasons in England.
Source : 90min