Pep Guardiola reveals who was to blame for Cole Palmer joining Chelsea from Man City

pep guardiola reveals who was to blame for cole palmer joining chelsea from man city

Cole Palmer has made an outstanding start to his Chelsea career (Picture: Getty)

Pep Guardiola accepts the responsibility for Manchester City’s failure to keep Cole Palmer.

The champions sold Palmer, one of their highly-rated academy prospects, to Chelsea last summer.

The 21-year-old, a member of City’s treble-winning squad last season, has shone since the switch and been the London club’s standout player this term.

Guardiola admits he did not give the youngster, who faces City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, the minutes he wanted and understands his reasons for moving.

The City manager said: ‘For young players, we always want them to stay but this is normal. After two or three seasons he wanted more minutes than he had the last season. I understand completely.

‘If Palmer had the minutes I gave to Phil (Foden) from the beginning, Cole Palmer would be here – but I didn’t give them to him. That is my responsibility.

‘Why? Because of Bernardo (Silva), Riyad (Mahrez), Phil. In that moment, I chose the other ones.

pep guardiola reveals who was to blame for cole palmer joining chelsea from man city

Cole Palmer scored Chelsea’s equaliser in a 4-4 draw with Man City earlier this season (Picture: Getty)

‘After one season it is nice, and the second season, but the third season it is, ‘Oh guys, I want to play, I don’t want to sit on the bench’.

‘It’s normal. We understand as a club. We got an offer from an incredible top club like Chelsea and I’m really happy for him. In all clubs these types of things happen.’

Palmer scored Chelsea’s late equaliser against City from the penalty spot when the sides met at Stamford Bridge in November.

He is Chelsea’s leading scorer this season with 12 goals in all competitions and their top assist-maker with nine.

Guardiola said: ‘We knew the quality he has and the impact he has shown this season is enormous.

‘It is not just goals and assists, it is the quality. He is an incredible threat for Chelsea.’

Chelsea news, exclusives and analysis

Sign upPrivacy PolicyThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Never miss a beat throughout the season or transfer window with weekly Chelsea news updates, exclusives and analysis. Sign up to Metro.co.uk’s Club Metro newsletter

News Related

OTHER NEWS

Disrupt Burrup protesters searched and phones seized

Disrupt Burrup Hub group say police have issued move-on notices prohibiting access to the WA site. A group of climate activists and filmmakers say their phones have been seized during ... Read more »

The generation driving a ‘megatrend’ of poor mental health in Australia

As individuals, we have unique experiences that affect our mental health and wellbeing, but what about the collective experiences that influence each generation? The mental health of Australians has been ... Read more »

Geraldton meatworks set to reopen after five years in bid to meet chilled meat demand from Asia, Middle East

Syed Ghazaly wants to see the Geraldton abattoir reopen early next year to process 1,000 sheep a day. (ABC Mid West Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis) The new owners of a mothballed ... Read more »

Blues seek ‘growth’ as pre-season begins; new Hawk aims to be AFL’s serial pest

Carlton coach Michael Voss says he and his players understand there are heightened expectations on them, but insists the Blues are ready to develop individually and in their game plan. ... Read more »

Bulldogs continue signing frenzy with swap deal

The Bulldogs’ off-season signing frenzy is set to continue with the club reportedly set to land Cronnor Tracey in a swap deal. The Sydney Morning Herald reports Tracey is expected ... Read more »

Customers to weigh in as Optus disruption comes under microscope

Consumers and impacted businesses are being urged to have their say on the Optus outage, with the federal government laying out the terms of reference for its review into the ... Read more »

Released detainee unable to be contacted by authorities

It has been revealed a released immigration detainee is unable to be contacted by authorities. Border Force has referred the matter to the Federal Police as authorities are attempting to ... Read more »
Top List in the World