Jonathan Smith – Football Scout

Man City boss Guardiola won’t take sabbatical

Paolo Bandini explains why Pep Guardiola to Juventus doesn’t make sense, and outlines how Maurizio Sarri and Simone Inzaghi are the frontrunners.

Dani Alves recalls what it’s like to play for Pep Guardiola and reminisces on his time playing alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has dismissed suggestions that he will take a sabbatical from football.
Reports in England claimed Guardiola wanted to take a break because City’s domestic Treble-winning season and tight battle with Liverpool for the Premier League had left him shattered.
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Guardiola took a year out of the game because of fatigue after leaving Barcelona in 2012. He spent the year in New York before returning to management at Bayern Munich.
He has two years remaining on his City…

Sources: Man City target ‘homegrown’ signings

Zack Steffen talks about the pressure of being the USMNT number one, and what he expects from his move to Manchester City.

The FC guys mention Manchester United’s ’99 treble winners and Arsenal’s ’98 side when questioning if Man City are the best team of the Premier League era.

ESPN FC’s Alexis Nunes joins the party in Manchester to get the fans’ thoughts on City’s treble-winning season and Vincent Kompany’s departure.
Manchester City are looking at bringing in “homegrown” players to maximise their squad depth, sources have told ESPN FC.
Leicester defenders Harry Maguire and Ben Chilwell as well as Crystal Palace’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka have all been tracked ahead of this summer’s transfer window.
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The Premier League champions only had four players classed as “homegrown”…

Man City ask CAS to block FFP probe – reports

The FC guys mention Manchester United’s ’99 treble winners and Arsenal’s ’98 side when questioning if Man City are the best team of the Premier League era.

Pep Guardiola was infuriated after Manchester City’s historic domestic treble after being accused of “receiving money” through separate payments from the club’s Abu Dhabi owners.
Manchester City have asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to throw out a case claiming they deliberately tried to cheat financial fair play (FFP), according to reports.
European governing body UEFA launched an investigation into a potential breach of FFP rules in March but the Premier League champions have denied any financial irregularity.
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– Viewers’ guide: Watch ESPN+ in U.S.
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The probe was launched after allegations made in German publication Der Spiegel, purportedly obtained by whistle-blowers Football Leaks, that City…

Sources: City would part ways with Delph for £15m

The FC guys mention Manchester United’s ’99 treble winners and Arsenal’s ’98 side when questioning if Man City are the best team of the Premier League era.
Manchester City will sell Fabian Delph if they get the right price for the England international, sources have told ESPN FC.
City would expect to receive about £15 million for the former Leeds United and Aston Villa midfielder and won’t stand in his way if he decides to leave.
Delph, 29, will be in the final year of his contract next season and has fallen behind Oleksandr Zinchenko in the pecking order with the Ukrainian set to be offered a new deal.
Pep Guardiola converted Delph into a left-back…

Man City chief defends spending, blasts La Liga

The FC guys mention Manchester United’s ’99 treble winners and Arsenal’s ’98 side when questioning if Man City are the best team of the Premier League era.

ESPN FC’s Alexis Nunes joins the party in Manchester to get the fans’ thoughts on City’s treble-winning season and Vincent Kompany’s departure.
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has defended the club’s spending and accused La Liga president Javier Tebas of hypocrisy over allegations that they are distorting the transfer market.
The Premier League champions, who are under investigation from Uefa over a potential breach of Financial Fair Play rules, have spent more than £1 billion on players since they were bought by Sheikh Mansour in 2008.
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Sources: City plan Sane talks amid Bayern link

Do Bayern have their sights set on Leroy Sane? Is Kieran Trippier on his way to Juventus? Plus, the latest on Lorenzo Insigne and Nicolas Otamendi.
Manchester City are set for talks with Leroy Sane in the coming days over a contract extension a…

Sources: City want Sane stay with Bayern keen

The FC guys mention Manchester United’s ’99 treble winners and Arsenal’s ’98 side when questioning if Man City are the best team of the Premier League era.

ESPN FC’s Alexis Nunes joins the party in Manchester to get the fans’ thoughts on City’s treble-winning season and Vincent Kompany’s departure.
Manchester City are ready for a battle to hang onto Leroy Sane with Bayern Munich pushing to sign the Germany international, sources have told ESPN FC.
The Premier League champions want to keep Sane but the 23-year-old winger has just two years remaining on his contract with a new deal remaining unsigned.
Bayern president Uli Hoeness has confirmed their interest in Sane as they look to replace Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, but has also said they will not spend more than €80 million on a…

Sterling: I want to play in MLS one day

The FC guys mention Manchester United’s ’99 treble winners and Arsenal’s ’98 side when questioning if Man City are the best team of the Premier League era.

ESPN FC’s Alexis Nunes joins the party in Manchester to get the fans’ thoughts on City’s treble-winning season and Vincent Kompany’s departure.
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling has said he hopes to play in the United States at some stage of his career.
Sterling, the Football Writers’ Player of the Year, told a conference in New York he was surprised by the level of enthusiasm for football in the U.S. and expected the sport to continue to grow.
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MLS franchise New York City FC is owned by the City Football Group, which runs City and five other clubs around the world.
“English football has grown massively over here. It wasn’t like that…

Sources: Kompany wants Man City coach, players

The FC guys mention Manchester United’s ’99 treble winners and Arsenal’s ’98 side when questioning if Man City are the best team of the Premier League era.

ESPN FC’s Alexis Nunes joins the party in Manchester to get the fans’ thoughts on City’s treble-winning season and Vincent Kompany’s departure.

Vincent Kompany says he’s given everything to Manchester City as he bids farewell to the supporters at the team’s victory parade.
Vincent Kompany is hoping to take Manchester City’s head of academy coaching and a number of young players on loan with him to Anderlecht, sources have told ESPN FC.
Kompany, 33, announced on Sunday that he will leave City this summer, after 11 years with the club, to become player-manager of Anderlecht.
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After he announced his departure, Kompany said he wanted to recreate Pep Guardiola’s style at the club where he started his career and said: “It’s the football I want to teach.”
City are keen to…

Sterling 10/10, Jesus 9/10 as City make FA Cup statement

Man City claim the first ever English men’s domestic treble and match the largest FA Cup final margin of victory since 1903.

Vincent Kompany and Manchester City raise the FA Cup after beating Watford and becoming the first English men’s team to win the domestic treble.

LONDON — Manchester City added the FA Cup trophy to the already won Premier League and Carabao Cup with a ruthless 6-0 demolition of Watford. Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus bagged braces and David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne also tallied as City equalled the biggest FA Cup-winning margin in the competition’s 148-year history.

Positives

Manchester City rounded off an incredible season in style with an emphatic victory to bring up an historic Treble. Domestically the season could not…

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