Manchester City icon David Silva has admitted that Pep Guardiola is “very particular”, his only real apparent flaw.
Cadena SER cover comments from the Manchester City favourite today after he appeared on ‘El Camino de Mario’ (Mario’s Journey), Mario Suárez’s YouTube channel.
Silva is arguably the best Spanish player in the history of the Premier League. He built an unparallelled legacy at the Etihad, playing 436 goals, scoring 77 goals and registering 141 assists.
He set a club record for win and was their quickest player to reach 200 Premier League wins. His 288 for the club is a Manchester City record. Alongside all of that, he won 14 trophies, including four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups and three Community Shields.
He managed 175 appearances under Pep Guardiola, playing a central role in six major trophy wins. He loved his time under his compatriot but admits Guardiola does have one flaw.
“Working with him was on another level,” he said.
“Because he already knew everything the other team was going to do, he had everything prepared, and things just worked out for you in the match.
“It’s another level. The worst thing about him is that he’s very particular; he doesn’t give you much freedom. But in other aspects, he’s a genius.”
Before moving to Manchester City, Silva was one of the most sought-after young players in European football after shining at Valencia.
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona were interested in him. Valencia president Manuel Llorente later revealed that Jose Mourinho have blocked his move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Silva is willing to admit he would have loved to join Barcelona. But that doesn’t mean he regrets moving to Manchester City in the slightest.
“I don’t know if the interest was genuine,” he added.
“Barcelona also wanted me. But Valencia wasn’t selling anyone at that time, then they had financial problems and sold Villa and me.
“Would I have liked to play for Barça? Who wouldn’t… but the best decision I made in my career was going to City. I had ten spectacular years there.
“The people treated me incredibly well, we won everything, the team was constantly improving, and then there’s something different about England. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something different about football. It’s like a religion for them.”