Coach Pep Guardiola admitted that to stand shoulder to shoulder with great teams like MU and Liverpool, Man City must definitely win the Champions League title.
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| Coach Pep Guardiola celebrates Man City winning the 2022/23 Premier League. (Source: AP) |
Man City coach plans to recruit former student Joshua Kimmich from Bayern Munich.
Man City under the reign of coach Pep Guardiola, celebrated their third consecutive Premier League title and fifth in the past six years, after a 1-0 win over Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on the evening of May 21.
The Blues' title triumph was confirmed the night before after Arsenal lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest.
Coach Pep Guardiola expressed after the match that he felt what Man City did was "very special", however, he admitted that the team needs to win the Champions League title to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the greatest teams like MU and Liverpool.
“I can’t imagine winning five Premier League titles in six years with Man City. I feel like we’ve done something special. But to be considered one of the greatest teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, Man City have to win the Champions League,” said the strategist.
The Man City captain added: “But it is also unfair to say that the Premier League means nothing just because Man City did not win the Champions League.
Winning the Premier League is not easy, so it is very meaningful and important. The race is every day, every week. Man City has won 5 out of the last 6 seasons and 6 Premier League titles in the last 10 years, 7 if you count in 12 years...
Therefore, it would be unfair to need the Champions League title to be recognized as the highest value. But we accept that.
People don't ask me to win the Champions League for Man City but after what we have done, I know it would be incomplete if we didn't do it.
But sometimes it's nice to train under pressure like that. It's necessary. We told each other, we have to work hard to achieve.
If Man City continue like this, sooner or later we will win the Champions League. Now we are in the final and we have to try to achieve that."
Man City will play MU in the FA Cup final on June 3, before playing Inter Milan for the dream of reaching the top of Europe a week later (2am June 11).
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| Coach Pep Guardiola wants to recruit player Joshua Kimmich (photo). (Source: Getty Images) |
* Kimmich is considered one of the best midfielders in the world, after being introduced to Bayern Munich by coach Pep Guardiola in 2015.
The German international is having a disappointing season at the Allianz Arena as the Bavarians were eliminated from the Champions League, German Cup and lost their chance to win the Bundesliga.
In the context of coach Gundogan getting old and possibly leaving when his contract expires this summer, coach Pep Guardiola wants Kimmich to replace his compatriot at Etihad.
Joshua Kimmich himself is also ready to find a new challenge in his career, after many years of dedication to Bayern.
He is a versatile player, able to play well as a central midfielder or right-back.
Previously, Bayern announced that they would not buy Joao Cancelo outright for 60 million pounds. However, the Portuguese defender could be used as a swap in the Kimmich deal.
Joshua Kimmich's current contract with the Bavarians runs until June 2025. Bayern's leadership has tried to invite him to sign an extension but has not been successful.
Coach Pep Guardiola has worked with Kimmich for a while and understands his former player's ability. He is confident that he will improve the 28-year-old midfielder if he agrees to join the Etihad team.
However, the price Man City has to pay will not be cheap, around 80 million pounds.
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