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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
George Hodgson

Lionel Messi lauds Pep Guardiola as Jack Grealish gets advice from ex-Aston Villa team mate

Here are your Manchester City evening headlines for Wednesday, 14 June.

Messi sends message to Pep

Argentina star Lionel Messi has described Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola as the "best coach in the world" after guiding the club to its first-ever Champions League crown last weekend.

City, who will discover their fixtures for the 2023/24 Premier League campaign when they are released at 9am on Thursday morning, defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul to become champions of Europe for the very first time. Victory in Turkey saw the club complete an incredible Treble after already laying their hands on the Premier League title and the FA Cup.

It means the Blues have now won every competition they have competed in since Guardiola took charge in 2016, meaning he will be hoping to now add the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup to their collection next season. On a personal note, City's triumph over Inter marked Guardiola's third Champions League crown in his managerial career after previously winning it at Barcelona in 2009 and 2011.

Guardiola is widely considered one of the greatest coaches of all time. And for Messi, who worked with him at Barcelona, the Catalan is the best in the business at this moment in time.

More on that here.

READ MORE: Man City still finalising transfer plans

Mings delivers verdict on Grealish celebrations

Aston Villa and England defender Tyrone Mings does not believe anyone can criticise Jack Grealish for the way he has celebrated Manchester City clinching the Treble.

Pep Guardiola's side had already scooped the Premier League title and the FA Cup, meaning the Champions League final win over Inter put the cherry on the cake. The Catalan has built a formidable force during his seven-year spell at the Etihad Stadium and the Champions League was the only trophy missing from his premiership.

Therefore, it was no surprise that City's players were allowed to celebrate after seeing off Inter. After the final, they travelled to Ibiza before flying back to Manchester for the club's trophy parade on Monday evening. Grealish was the star of the show in dismal conditions, bringing yet more life and character to a dressing room already on cloud nine.

The former Villa ace has captured attention across the globe for his celebrations, generating plenty of love and smiles. And for ex-club team-mate Mings, who is now training with Grealish on England duty ahead of their upcoming European championship qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia, the City ace cannot be begrudged for enjoying himself on such a scale.

Read his comments here

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