Cole Palmer was asking to leave Man City for TWO seasons, reveals Pep Guardiola… as he admits he ‘didn’t give the Chelsea star the minutes he deserved’
Pep Guardiola has revealed that former Manchester City star Cole Palmer ‘asked him to leave the club for ‘two seasons’ before eventually making the move to Chelsea in the summer.
The 21-year-old is enjoying a sensational debut season at Stamford Bridge, with Palmer rising to the top of the Premier League’s top scorers list after finding the back of the net 20 times this season.
He would score four times on Monday, scoring his second hat-trick of the 2023/2024 season, earning the praise of many in the football world, including his former manager.
But during his press conference ahead of City’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea, Guardiola had tried to convince Palmer to stay, despite the midfielder asking several times to leave the club.
The City boss said: ‘He asked for two seasons to leave Man City. I said, “Stay.” He wanted to leave. What can we do?!’
‘He is an exceptional player with super potential. I didn’t give him the minutes he deserves that he now has at Chelsea.’
More to follow…