Wayne Rooney says he would WALK to Manchester City to take a job as Pep Guardiola’s assistant …. despite how it would infuriate Man Utd fans
Pep Guardiola has won 12 major trophies at Manchester City in eight seasons
The former Barcelona manager led City to a historic Treble last season
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Wayne Rooney would ‘walk to Manchester City’ if Pep Guardiola asked him to be his assistant and hailed him as the best manager in the Premier League.
The Spaniard has transformed City into the most dominant team in European football since arriving at the Etihad in 2016, leading them to a historic Treble last term.
Guardiola has won 12 major trophies at City and remains on course to lift his fourth consecutive Premier League title, having finished top of the league in five of the past six seasons.
As a player with Manchester United, Rooney twice lost to Guardiola’s Barcelona side in the Champions League final in 2009 and 2011 and revealed he would love the opportunity to work under the Catalan.
‘It depends [on whether I’d ever be an assistant] – if Pep Guardiola comes in and asks me to be his assistant, you’d walk there!,’ he said speaking on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast with Sky Bet.
Wayne Rooney would ‘walk to Manchester City’ if Pep Guardiola asked him to be his assistant
Wayne Rooney would ‘walk to Manchester City’ if Pep Guardiola asked him to be his assistant
Guardiola has won the Premier League with City in five of the past six seasons
Guardiola has won the Premier League with City in five of the past six seasons
‘But you see what [Mikel] Arteta is doing now and I strongly believe a lot of that is from learning what Guardiola was doing and so it depends on what the situation is.’
Arteta won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups in three seasons as Guardiola’s assistant at City, before replacing Unai Emery at Arsenal in December 2019.
The former Premier League midfielder won the FA Cup in his first season in charge and has turned the Gunners into serial title contenders again, while overseeing a dramatic overhaul of the squad he inherited.
Arteta has credited Guardiola for being a major influence on his managerial career and, like his mentor, he is similarly demanding of his players and shares the same tactical philosophy.
Speaking in October, Guardiola insisted Arteta’s success at Arsenal ‘belongs to Mikel and his people and it’s not down to me’, Rooney insisted the City manager’s impact was clear.
And the former England striker, who was sacked by Birmingham last month after losing nine of his 15 games in charge, said Guardiola remained a trailblazer in the Premier League.
‘The way the game’s gone – it’s strange,’ he explained.
Rooney believes Mikel Arteta (right) learnt a huge amount from working under Guardiola (left)
Rooney believes Mikel Arteta (right) learnt a huge amount from working under Guardiola (left)
‘I watched one of our games back, against Liverpool from about 15 years ago, and the difference to how the game was played then to how it is now is massive.
‘For me, the best manager is Pep [Guardiola], and you look at how he adapts – how they [Manchester City] are playing now is not the same as how they were playing four years ago.
‘He keeps making these subtle changes, and then you see everyone else trying to do the same.
‘It’s important to have your own principles and ideas of what you want to do and that’s what I’ve tried to do at Derby, DC [United] and at Birmingham, but unfortunately it didn’t work.’
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