Mangala remembers Guardiola’s words before his release from the man. City: “I opened my eyes” – a man. city

The Spanish coach “with great sincerity” told the former Porto central defender that he does not rely on him and that his style inspired the player.

In the summer of 2014, Manchester City paid 45 million euros to FC Porto for Ilyakim Mangala, who at that time became the most expensive defender in the world. But after two seasons with the Nationals, the France international became the fourth choice in defense and was loaned to Valencia and then Everton, before leaving permanently for the Spanish club in 2019/20.

Mangala has now revealed the conversation that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola had with him at the time, after the 2017 summer transfer window closed. The manager came to me and said very honestly: “No solution has come and you are still here. You have a very specific profile which is not what I am looking for In terms of playing style. But here you are and we have four center backs. We will work together and you will be ready for every game and we have a lot, so you will have time to play, because there are characteristics that you have that others do not have and I need them. A very good player, but because of my style of play You’re not what I’m looking for. I don’t have a problem with you,” the 31-year-old began by saying “Get French Football News”.

“I can’t be disappointed because the coach knows very well what he wants. It’s not about my qualities, it’s about my profile. From that moment on, I knew I was the fourth choice. I didn’t play a single match in August. January left for Everton and I played 15 matches. There are a lot of matches that are important to be the fourth choice,” stressed Mangala, also acknowledging that this conversation inspired him.

“After being trained by him, I wanted to become more of a coach. Not necessarily his style of play, because that can change, but the approach. Why do we play that way? Why do we do this particular movement and how are we going to do it? How does each player position themselves in relation to For the other? It’s about the approach you give to things. We talk about Pep in terms of what happened on the field, but also the mental aspect. All week long are his speeches, the way he approaches you to keep your feet on the ground. It’s everything, really. The way you greeted him It opened my eyes,” admitted the former FC Porto, which currently has no club after leaving French club Saint-Etienne at the end of last season.

According to the record