If some managers see football as a battle, Pep Guardiola appears to deem it more of a puzzle. It is less about outfighting than outthinking his opponents. The game appeals to the intellectual in him, the challenge of putting all the pieces in the correct places at the right time. His critics may argue he complicates matters needlessly, altering the equation by adding Jack Grealish or Erling Haaland to a successful formula.
Deep into his seventh season at Manchester City, Guardiola’s longevity can be explained by the resources at his disposal. Yet he claims that “people understand that in the last five or six years we are the seventh team in net spend in this country and the 12th or 13th in Europe”.
