Pep Guardiola said that he does not have time to speak with players out on loan as Pedro Porro prepares to face his parent club in the Champions League.
Manchester City signed Porro in 2019 and the right-back has seriously impressed on loan at Sporting in the past two seasons, earning a reputation as one of the best players in the league and winning a place in the Spain squad under Luis Enrique.
Being part of Guardiola's first-team squad has never been a serious consideration though, leading to the defender telling Portuguese media last summer that he wasn't certain if the manager knew he was actually a City player given the pair had never had a conversation.
City's manager did not appear to take kindly to the comment, wildly exaggerating the number of players the club have on loan when he was asked about the right-back ahead of the Champions League last-16 first leg.
"I know him perfectly but we have 250 loan players and I cannot speak with them all," Guardiola said. "I'm happy it’s going well and of course I know him. I saw many games and sometimes he played and sometimes he doesn’t."
While Porro is able to face City under UEFA rules, the Blues actually head into the game with their first-choice right-back Kyle Walker suspended after he was sent off in their final group game at RB Leipzig. John Stones played there in the 2-0 win over Brentford, and Aleks Zinchenko is another option if Joao Cancelo were to move flanks.
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