Pep Guardiola previously had Jeremie Frimpong at his disposal but the Liverpool star never felt the trust of his old manager, which convinced him to leave Manchester City in 2019
08:33, 08 Feb 2026
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola(Image: Getty Images)
Liverpool star Jeremie Frimpong previously revealed how he never felt as though he was going to win the trust of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
Frimpong spent almost a decade in City's academy before leaving to join Celtic in 2019, and he quickly went on to forge a reputation as one of the most exciting wing-backs in Europe.
Eighteen months at Celtic were followed by four and a half years at Bayer Leverkusen before he returned to the Premier League with Liverpool last summer.
Speaking in 2019, shortly after leaving City, Frimpong said that he would have "loved" to have played for Guardiola's side and opened the door to a possible return to the Etihad Stadium at some point down the line.
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“I had been at City all my football life and I had the ability to play there,” he told The Scotsman five years ago, shortly after his move to Glasgow.
“But I knew in my head that it was about the coach, Pep Guardiola, trusting me to play. And I knew I wasn’t going to get that. So I needed to change something.
“When he bought another right-back this summer, Joao Cancelo, that topped it off because he is a young guy as well.
“You train with the first team every week and then you go back down with the under-23s. There wasn’t really a pathway for me at Man City.
“So it wasn’t really that hard a decision. Obviously I would have loved to play for City, but I knew one day I would leave. This is just the beginning for me. Maybe I could go back there one day but right now I am staying here.”
Jeremie Frimpong joined Liverpool last year
Jeremie Frimpong joined Liverpool last year(Image: Getty Images)
Considering it's seven years since those comments, and Frimpong is now a Liverpool player, it's fair to conclude that it's highly unlikely that Frimpong will return to City in the future!
Meanwhile, Arne Slot provided an injury update on the Dutchman ahead of the clash between Liverpool and City at Anfield.
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Frimpong is currently sidelined with another muscle injury, having suffered two other muscle injuries during the first half of the season as well.
"Jeremie will definitely not train this week so won't play this weekend," Slot said during a press conference on Thursday.
Frimpong's fitness issues have contributed to him starting just 13 of the 36 games that Liverpool has played in all competitions so far this season.