MX23RW : Saturday, September 28 20:41:54| >> :60:153:153:

Pep Guardiola: 'Manchester City 10 years off reaching Barcelona's level'

Guardiola: 'City 10 years off Barca level'
© SilverHub
Pep Guardiola admits that his squad "had grown old" and required overhauling, but says it will take far more work to guide Manchester City among the world's elite.

Pep Guardiola has confessed that he will need a full decade in charge if he is to make Manchester City as good as former sides Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

The Catalan coach went a whole season without winning any silverware last time out for the first time in his career, putting the pressure on to get things right in his second campaign at the Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola, who won numerous accolades during his time with Barca and Bayern, believes that he has improved his squad since taking charge 12 months ago but is still some way off the level he aspires to reach.

"I hope to have as much fun here as in the first season, because I enjoyed it," he told L'Esportiu. "There are people who say that it has not gone well, but it's the exception to what I've done so far – seven years of coaching and six leagues won.

"City is a great team, but getting to Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus... it's very complicated. You need time, a decade. We are trying to make the necessary changes to reinforce the team. It was one of the league's oldest, a team that had achieved many successes but had grown old.

"We have rejuvenated with Gabriel Jesus, Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane. I always thought what would have happened if we'd had Vincent Kompany, Gabriel Jesus and Gundogan all year."

Guardiola has further overhauled his playing squad this summer by offloading five senior players, while bringing in Bernardo Silva and Ederson for a combined £77.5m.

ID:301856: cacheID:301856:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2972:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Manchester City's Ivorian striker Wilfried Bony celebrates scoring the opening goal during the English League Cup quarter-final football match between Manchester City and Hull City at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, northwest England on December 1, 2015
Read Next:
Bony vows to re-find scoring touch at City
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool65011221015
2Manchester CityMan City6420146814
3Arsenal6420125714
4Chelsea6411157813
5Aston Villa5401107312
6Fulham632185311
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle632187111
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton623110829
9Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest62316519
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs52129547
11Manchester UnitedMan Utd52125507
12Brentford6213810-27
13Bournemouth512258-35
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham6123610-45
15Everton6114715-84
16Leicester CityLeicester6033812-43
17Crystal Palace603359-43
18Ipswich TownIpswich503238-53
19Southampton501429-71
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves6015616-101


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!