Manchester City might find it hard to convince Pep Guardiola to stay at the Etihad Stadium after the club’s 2-season ban from UEFA competitions, ex-captain, Richard Dunne has said.
Dunne believes that being denied the opportunity to challenge for a trophy he badly needs might make Pep decide against staying at the club.
According to him, if City should reach the stage of being unable to compete or failing to attract top players because they cannot offer UCL, it will hard to convince him to remain at Etihad.
He added that losing Pep would be tough on the board since he is a coach they worked so hard to bring to England.
His words, “Wherever he’s gone, he’s always been there to be a winner. That’s what he’ll want to remain,”
“He wants to go and win trophies and if City are in a situation where they can no longer compete, because they’re selling players and can’t attract the top players because there’s no Champions League football, it will be difficult.
“I think the club has been organised really well – the whole club, not just the first team. They have a structure in place where they will survive and try and rebuild again.
“But to lose someone like Pep Guardiola would be a huge blow. He’s what they’ve worked towards, to try and get him to come in as manager, and he’s been successful.
“You listen to players talk about why they sign for teams and Pep is a huge attraction for any player.”
“You don’t know what the owners are thinking and what their next move will be,”
“All the players are going: ‘Are you staying?’, ‘I don’t know, someone in the Champions League wants to sign me, so maybe if this doesn’t work out…’.
“It might be similar to when the owners came in and took over at City. All the players in the dressing room are talking about it and wondering what’s going to happen next. Am I secure? Are they going to move me on?
“There is an uncertainty that grows within the club. They’ll appeal and the court case will probably go on for a while. The players will be thinking: ‘What’s going on this summer? Are we in the Champions League or do I move on?’.
“Also, the talk may be that the Premier League is going to act and deduct points. It all becomes a bit messy and, as much as the players concentrate on the pitch and all that stuff, the talk all around them will all be about this situation.”
On City youngsters, “You look at what’s happened with Chelsea this year – they’ve had the transfer ban and they’ve been able to blood lots of young players,”
“City have that number of talented players coming through in the background, their academy is so highly thought of. They just need players to get to the first team and this may be the opportunity for them.
“You can’t say the ban will benefit the club but in every dark cloud there is a silver lining somewhere and maybe for City that’s it.
“If the likes of Phil Foden get to play on a more regular basis, if Eric Garcia comes through and other young players make a name for themselves… in the long run, isn’t that what UEFA wanted?”
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