Guardiola lists De Bruyne behind Messi as second greatest player he has coached
19/05/2025
CGA, manchester, UK
19/05/2025
CGA, manchester, UK
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00:00The sort of emotion around Kevin is such a huge game, isn't it?
00:04Maybe it can be positive.
00:06Emotions and something special for all of them, they can do it.
00:10So it can be positive.
00:12Since the decision was made, Pep, about Kevin,
00:15has your relationship with him been affected at all?
00:18Have you been happy with the way he's been and the way he's played?
00:21Yeah, I'm happy with his playing.
00:24The relation is completely the same.
00:27In the summer, how difficult are you going to replace Kevin?
00:34There are players that are really, really difficult to replace.
00:37Really, really difficult for many, many reasons.
00:40Yeah, we know that.
00:42But the season we have done is the season we have done.
00:44And we cannot deny it.
00:46And of course, we have to move forward.
00:48Pep, you've obviously worked with some brilliant passes of the ball
00:53across the clubs you've been at.
00:55But have you ever played with or managed someone who can pass it quite like Kevin?
01:00It's difficult to find.
01:01It's one of the best three I've ever seen.
01:03I've ever played, I've ever dealt with.
01:06Who are the other two?
01:08One is Messi.
01:10Let me think about it.
01:11OK, put Kevin second.
01:14And of the passes and the assists, do you have a favourite one
01:18or one that always comes to mind?
01:20I said Messi is the best I've ever seen.
01:23Because Messi has done it really, really close to the box.
01:26But Kevin is there.
01:28So it's just through the stats, the goals, the assists that they have provided to the team
01:32in the final third, the talent.
01:34Last game, we get two or three passes again in front of the one player in front of the keeper.
01:39That is unique.
01:40It's unique.
01:41That's why I've been one of the best players that this club has done in all history.
01:47And it's a big, big words because I've been a special player.
01:51Jack Grealish's lack of minutes in recent weeks and on Saturday has sort of raised a lot of comment.
02:01I think Alan Shearer came out and said he's got to leave for his own good sort of thing in a podcast today.
02:06I just wondered, do you understand that kind of sentiment?
02:09And is that something you'll discuss with Jack come the end of the season?
02:12No, we didn't talk.
02:13I didn't talk with him.
02:14I'm saying these kind of things when people don't believe it belongs to the agents and the club
02:19and Chik in this case, Hugo as well, both sides.
02:22So if it's going to happen, it's going to happen.
02:24But of course, at the minutes they have to come back to play minutes to start to play again.
02:29That's for sure.
02:30You understand that as an ex-player yourself, presumably the players want minutes, don't they?
02:34But not Jack.
02:35So there is no one player in my locker room.
02:38And I think all the locker rooms around the world that they are happy or they are not happy,
02:42and they put bad faces because players don't play.
02:45I never see that.
02:47So of course, they are unsatisfied, but not just him.
02:49So we're satisfied that Maka, Rico, Kovanovi was a little bit injured
02:54and now they don't want to expose that.
02:57And all the players are unhappy.
03:00And they let you know that they are unhappy.
03:03So it's happening.
03:04So in situations when the team is winning, winning,
03:07they have to figure out that everything happened.
03:11But they are happy.
03:12They are here to play.
03:13And they don't play.
03:14They are unsatisfied.
03:15That is a normal position in all the clubs.
03:17And just to clarify on an earlier question about the penalties.
03:20If you get a penalty in these last two games,
03:22will you have a designated penalty taker?
03:24And will you expect the players to stick to that?
03:26Listen, it was a period in, I don't know, in the first season,
03:29on the second, on the third, I don't know,
03:31missed a lot, a lot of penalties.
03:33I remember the first game in Europe that Sergio was an unbelievable taker.
03:37He missed one or two penalties in one game or something like that.
03:40I never was involved.
03:42The moment, what you feel in that moment is the confidence,
03:46like everything, the body language is everything.
03:48Before you take a free kick or a corner, penalties,
03:54is how, okay, I'm going to deliver this action in the best as possible.
03:57This is the key.
04:00Hi, Pep.
04:01The players have come under a bit of criticism this season.
04:04Sorry?
04:05The players have come in for a bit of criticism this season
04:08with the way the season's gone.
04:10And they are keen to show that, you know,
04:13they are still able to get the results at the highest level.
04:16I don't understand, sorry.
04:18Sorry.
04:19No, sorry.
04:20They got the criticism.
04:21Players.
04:22Sorry?
04:23Others?
04:24Others?
04:25Who are those?
04:26People.
04:27People criticize players?
04:28Yeah.
04:29No.
04:30Are these the kind of weeks, this week,
04:32that you turn to the players and say,
04:34show everyone that you've still got it?
04:36Of course, we have two games here.
04:39We have two games that are still enough to have a World Cup.
04:42But here, don't criticize the players in this country.
04:44No, but as in, you know, from outside,
04:49the players have had more criticism this season.
04:51Yeah, because we don't win.
04:52Yeah.
04:53We don't win.
04:54This is related.
04:55Do you know how much compliment we had
04:57when we won the tribals and quadruples?
04:59Yeah, yeah.
05:00But now everyone's talking about the rebuild.
05:02Now it's related when we don't win.
05:03Some of the new players coming in
05:05and the current players here kind of still have...
05:07But you have to use it.
05:08When you're playing at a level,
05:09I said many times, you know,
05:13if I don't want to get criticized,
05:15I have a business.
05:17Be a journalist, a pundit.
05:21You get criticism?
05:22No, never.
05:23No.
05:24So...
05:25You'd be surprised.
05:26Yeah.
05:27You understand what I mean, you know?
05:29Yeah.
05:30So it's...
05:31Go another.
05:32The players are the same.
05:33So don't want that.
05:34Be a photographer.
05:35Alexi.
05:36Is it a week when you lean on the players
05:41who you know have that experience
05:44of going through these big games again and again?
05:47Yeah, of course.
05:48Of course.
05:49Of course.
05:50But sometimes...
05:51Look at Claudio Echeverri.
05:53Play good, right?
05:54Have three or four chances.
05:56Every time to run the box was a dangerous situation.
05:59Why?
06:00He has not passed.
06:01His mind is clean.
06:03He has not to defend anything,
06:05what he has done in the past.
06:07Maybe in two, three years,
06:08it will be different.
06:09You know?
06:10When everyone arrives, you are clean.
06:12And after that, you demand more, you know, status.
06:16You know?
06:17But you have done.
06:18But done don't exist.
06:20You have done right now.
06:23That's why I play good.
06:24Because it's positive.
06:26For him, it's a gift to be here
06:28and try to prove that he can play in the Premier League.
06:31Will be able to know?
06:32I don't know.
06:33We will be here to help him.
06:34Yeah, we try.
06:35We try.
06:36This is the situation.
06:37Thank you, guys.
06:38Done?
06:40Thank you, guys.
06:41Done?
06:42No.
06:43No.
06:44No.
06:45No.
06:46No.
06:47No.
06:48No.
06:49No.