Paris Saint-Germain new boy Kylian Mbappe has revealed his admiration for Pep Guardiola and has insisted that he didn’t reject the Spaniard, but was not keen to join Manchester City.
PSG have signed the 18-year-old striker on loan with an option to buy him at the end of the season for a fee of around €160m, which will make him the second most expensive player in the world.
Real Madrid were also chasing the French teen sensation and Guardiola met the player and his entourage earlier this year to convince him to move to the Etihad Stadium.
Mbappe clearly is a fan of the Manchester City manager, admires the way the Spaniard lives and breathes football and is only interested in talking about the game and tactical patterns.
The Frenchman admits that he loves the fact that Guardiola was only keen to talk about football when the two met in the summer but stressed that he just didn’t want to join Manchester City.
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Asked about his meeting with Guardiola, Mbappe told French sports daily L’Equipe: “He’s a coach who breathes football.
“He won everywhere and he gives you the passion, the desire to play, to think about the game because he only talks to you about the game. He doesn’t even think about what will happen next.
“[PSG coach Unai] Emery too talks a lot about the game and I love coaches who only talk about playing football because that’s what concerns us. These two coaches have passion for football that goes beyond their job; it’s good to work with people like that.
“When I met him, we talked about tactical patterns and how he would use me.
"We talked more about my qualities because I know myself better than anyone. Even Guardiola cannot tell me what I know.
“I didn’t say no to Guardiola, I said no to Manchester City.”
Guardiola got firsthand knowledge of Mbappe’s qualities when his goals helped Monaco to knock Manchester City out of the Champions League last season.
