Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport 

Former Bayern Munich centre-back Medhi Benatia has said Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola “does not care about the human side” of his players.

The comments came from Moroccan defender Benatia, 32, during an interview with French-Monegasque radio station Radio Monte Carlo (RMC) Sport.

Benatia and Spanish boss Guardiola, 48, both spent time at Bayern Munich between the years 2014 and 2016.

Benatia spoke about his time with Guardiola saying: “It is my opinion and lots of people share it that Guardiola is someone that does not care much about the human side.

“He says it is because he has had disappointments in the past. He told me ‘I bought you, I wanted you. You have this quality and this other quality, I need those.

“I will teach you this and that. You are here to do as I tell you, but we are not here to be friends.”

However, the defender goes on to praise Guardiola’s tactical knowledge saying: “He shows you how to position your body, how to control the ball so your shoulders are completely oriented towards the match.”

When speaking about Guardiola’s coaching style, Benatia said: “Tactically he will always fight for superiority in the midfield, he wants to play.

“I did not run sprints with him in two years. He is probably the best in the world in a tactical aspect. I was 28 years old and I thought I had a lot of football knowledge when I got to Bayern.

“However, it seemed like I learned something new about football every day.”

Benatia played for Bayern Munich between 2014 to 2017 and coincided with Guardiola’s three seasons managing the German club between 2013 to 2016 before he moved to Manchester City winning the Premier League in 2018 and 2019.

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