Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola on how much his side are missing Rodri and other absences ahead of the Manchester derby against United
Etihad Training Campus, Manchester, UK
Etihad Training Campus, Manchester, UK
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00:00One of the players you won't have back, unfortunately, is Rodri. Is that the one position, if the right player becomes available, you might look to enter the market for?
00:09Listen, when I have three or four central defenders, I need the central defenders. When I have Kovacic and Gundo, I don't need a replacement in that position.
00:18When I don't have wingers for Iniesta this season, I need wingers. When Erling is away, I have Oscar Bob and Phil Foden to play there. We have the same goals. This is the problem.
00:30If you tell me, no, no, all these players will be fine in that position, we need that, we'll go to the transfer market. But I don't know which one, because it depends.
00:37You have the four central defenders, I don't need central defenders. The only problem is Rodri. Rodri, we knew it from the beginning.
00:45The problem is Rodri, of course. We are playing this season without the best player in the Ballon d'Or and without the best player in England last season.
00:53Phil has played four or five games, but no more than that, and he's the best. So how is it not one team that plays with a central defender, with a Ballon d'Or and the best player in the Premier League during all the season?
01:02Of course it's difficult. You know, Chicago Bulls won the sixth NBA with Michael Jordan, right? So since then, Michael Jordan has retired. How many?
01:12So we have the problem that we had. The moment we come back, we'll be strong again. We'll be a good team.
01:18At the same time, of course, we have to try to play the way we played, especially in Turin, especially in Nottingham Forest, and improve with the players that we have.
01:28We still have a really, really good team. Not the best squad, but the eleven in Turin was really, really good to try to win games.