Man City legend claims Pep Guardiola rejected Kevin De Bruyne's move to Bayern Munich with sneaky plan
Pep Guardiola's managerial prowess seems to know no bounds and Fernanindho's latest revelation fuels that belief even further.
Since he arrived at city of manchester In 2016, Guardiola has brought in some exceptional talent, including a goalscoring machine. Erling Haaland.
Now, however, it is his alleged premeditated plan for a star who arrived at the Etihad Stadium before him that has attracted attention: Kevin De Bruyne.
The Belgian playmaker, who left Chelsea in 2014 – was signed by Manuel Pellegrini from Wolfsburg in 2015 for a then-club record fee of £55m.
But before signing at the Etihad, De Bruyne had been strongly linked to Guardiola's Bayern.
Former Manchester City captain Fernandinho – who arrived at Manchester City in 2013 – recalled the situation in the Denilson Show: “He (Pep Guardiola) was at Bayern and (Kevin) De Bruyne was at Wolfsburg.
“Bayern's scouting department says: 'We're looking at this kid, what do you think about bringing him here?' And Pep: 'No, no, no, I don't want him, I don't think he fits into our team.'”
It seems unlikely that Guardiola will turn down one of the world's most promising midfielders, who scored 16 goals and 28 assists to help Wolfsburg finish second and win the German Cup.
But according to Fernandinho, Guardiola had been making excuses not to sign De Bruyne for a reason.
He continued: “A year goes by, De Bruyne goes to Manchester City. Another year goes by, Guardiola comes to City. Do you understand?
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“The guy knew he was going to City and sent De Bruyne there.”
Since De Bruyne's arrival at Manchester City, he has scored 98 goals and registered a whopping 165 assists in 369 games in all competitions.
Under Guardiola, the 32-year-old has won five Premier League titles, one Champions League, five League Cups and two FA Cups.
If rejecting him at Bayern was really part of his larger plan, who knows what else Guardiola is up to.
Manchester City will look to book their place in the Champions League quarter-finals against Copenhagen tonight. live on talkSPORT.
