Man City: Report reveals Guardiola ‘likes’ Barca star ‘a lot’ and ‘would not hesitate’ to pull trigger
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola ‘still likes Pedri a lot’ and tried to sign him from Barcelona in the summer transfer window, according to a report.
Pedri has played a lot of football for someone who turns 21 next month.
Notably, the Spanish midfielder played 73 matches in the 2020/21 season, representing his country at the Summer Olympics after a lengthy campaign for his club.
He is widely regarded as one of the best youngsters in world football and won the Golden Boy award in 2021.
The one-time La Liga winner played Barcelona’s opening two league fixtures to start 23/24 but a hamstring injury has ruled him out of his side’s 11 matches since.
The Catalan giants have not missed a beat without Pedri, though; winning their opening three Champions League matches and maintaining an unbeaten record in La Liga.
This does indicate that there is light at the end of the tunnel if Barcelona are forced to sell the influential 20-year-old to help their financial situation.
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According to Spanish outlet Nacional, there is interest from European champions Manchester City.
The report says City boss Guardiola – who won the Champions League as Barcelona head coach in 2009 and 2011 – ‘is in love with great footballers’ and Pedri is ‘one of the players he would like to sign’.
It is noted that the Cityzens and Blaugrana have held many discussions this year and the Spaniard’s name ‘appeared’ but the Catalan club were thankful he stayed put.
Pedri’s name was brought up during negotiations for Joao Cancelo to join Barca on loan, but the La Liga champions view their player as ‘untouchable’.
The report does state that the sale could be a ‘bargaining chip’ in a deal to send Bernardo Silva to the Etihad, or ‘to solve Barca’s serious financial problems’.
A €100million fee is mentioned, though it is claimed that City never ‘seriously’ considered offering that fee.
Despite this, Guardiola ‘still likes Pedri a lot’ and ‘would not hesitate for a single second to sign him if he had the opportunity’.
In a boost to Barca fans, it is said that the player is not considering leaving any time soon.
It was claimed by Nacional in November 2021 that Guardiola was keen on bringing Pedri to Manchester, so the interest has been there for a while.
Meanwhile, Pedri was linked with Manchester United last month
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