12 November 2023 , 08:30
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Pep Guardiola has stressed he would never prevent a Manchester City player from signing for a title rival following reports linking Kalvin Phillips with a move to Liverpool.
The Premier League champions have regularly sanctioned big moves for players in the past: City gave Raheem Sterling their blessing to join Chelsea last summer while Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko were both sold to Arsenal, who ended up establishing themselves as rival title contenders.
The Gunners success after acquiring Jesus and Zinchenko from City had led some people to speculate whether Guardiola would be reluctant to sell players to rivals in the future. But the Spaniard is adamant that is not the case - because that's simply not how "big clubs" operate.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of City's meeting with Chelsea, where he will come face-to-face with Sterling, Guardiola said: “Never. Never ever. From my point of view, I have said this to the club many times. I give my opinion to the club and they decide if the transfer suits for both sides and the player.
“Why? I think that means you are a small club (if you block a transfer). Big clubs, they don’t care. They make decisions for the benefit of all three parties: players and both clubs - and the agents sometimes. So really it is not a problem.
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“If they want to go to Chelsea or [Manchester] United or, I don’t know, Liverpool, whatever, what is the problem? They are happy to be there and the club is happy with the transfer. The other club is happy with the amount of money they spend, so it is fine. Another player will come to us and we keep going in a good spirit and a good mood.”
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Pep Guardiola's comments indicate he would not stand in Kalvin Phillips' way if Liverpool were to bid for the midfielder (Getty Images)Guardiola's frank verdict could encourage Liverpool to rekindle their interest in Phillips, who emerged as a transfer target in the summer. The Anfield hierarchy failed to firm up their interest in the England star and instead moved on to other targets.
But with Phillips still on the periphery at the Etihad, a report from Sky Sports in Germany last month outlined that Liverpool will consider lodging an official proposal for the former Leeds favourite in the January transfer window.
Jurgen Klopp rebuilt his engine room this summer after signing Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch but could continue that work in the New Year.