Guardiola: I wish I had Lionel Messi at Manchester City

Pep Guardiola has said that he would love a player like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Kylian Mbappe at Manchester City to make the difference in matches, but he is proud of his current squad for their resilience and consistency as they sit atop the Premier League.

By Our Sports Editor

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has praised his current players for their success without relying on a single superstar like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

City have been linked with a move for Messi after he almost left Barcelona on a free transfer last season, and nears the end of his contract this summer.

However Guardiola, who managed the Argentine when the pair were both at Barcelona, said he was still satisfied with the players at his disposal.

The Catalan manager was speaking after seeing his City side beat Spurs 3-0 on Saturday to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table. They are now seven points clear of nearest challengers Leicester City and Manchester United.

The win was the club’s sixteenth consecutive victory in all competition, as part of a 23-match unbeaten streak, and Guardiola praised his players for their consistency without a superstar of their own.

“We don’t have players who can win the game by himself – we don’t have a Messi, a Cristiano, [Kylian] Mbappe or Neymar,” Guardiola said. “We have to do it as a team.

“I’ll be honest, I would love to have a player who scores every single game four goals and runs like these players run, I would love it.”

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However, he said that, “I wouldn’t change any player that we have right now today, in this season. All of them. That’s why many times I praised our captain Fernandinho, like how he helps on and off the pitch to stick together in the bad moments.

“The big teams, the big players show it in the bad moments, in the good moments everyone is easy to play, and we had the bad moments this season.”

City next play on Wednesday when they travel to Goodison Park to face Everton.