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‘We are not’: Pep Guardiola aims subtle dig at Tottenham chief Daniel Levy
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola confirmed in his press conference today that Ferran Torres is on his way out of the club. While doing so, he may have just aimed a subtle dig at Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy.
City and Spurs locked horns in the summer with Harry Kane the big prize up for grabs. The Tottenham striker made it clear to everyone that he wanted to leave and the defending Premier League champions, unsurprisingly, were keen to secure his services.
Levy, however, blocked every Manchester City attempt. He was just not willing to let his star striker leave, even if it meant that Kane wouldn’t be happy about the decision.
Guardiola, while speaking about agreeing to let Torres leave, made it clear that he will not stand in a player’s way if he’s unhappy – unlike some ‘presidents and CEOs’ of other clubs.
Guardiola aims a subtle dig at Tottenham chief Daniel Levy
The Spaniard said in his press conference, as per : “We are not going to bring in a striker (in January).
“I hear it (Torres to Barcelona) was very close but I have not heard from my club that it is already done, nothing official. They are negotiating. When the club confirm, it’s done, but Txiki (Begiristain, MCFC Sporting Director) didn’t say to me it’s done.
“When he knocked on my door and said he wants to leave, I said leave.
“I want happiness in my players. If you are not happy, you have to leave. We are not a club where presidents and CEOs say no you have to stay.”
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Guardiola may have just been speaking about Torres there, but looking from the outside, it really does feel like a little jibe at Levy, who stopped Kane from moving to the Etihad in the summer.
Spurs’ decision has clearly affected the Englishman. Kane hasn’t looked anything like his previous self this season and although he scored and played fairly well against Liverpool, his goal tally of two goals in 14 league games tells the whole story.
Kane may never get his move to Manchester City now and that’s good news for Tottenham fans. He may sulk for a while that the big transfer he dreamed of never happened, but once it’s clear to him that there’s no way out of Spurs, he’ll put his head down and become the player he was before the start of this season.
It will be really interesting to see how Kane will fare in the second half of the season under Antonio Conte.
