Manchester City's French-Speaking Faction Is Dismantled! Guardiola Kills Two Birds with One Stone and Establishes His Authority!
Whether Guardiola heard Bony's comments behind his back is unknown, but he summoned Bony to his office the next day.
Bony entered with a heavy heart, terrified, like a primary school student caught talking in class being called to the teacher's office.
Guardiola, with a beaming smile, personally brewed Bony a cup of freshly ground coffee;
He then used a method of first praising and then criticizing, first commending Bony's performance for Manchester City last season.
Despite frequently coming off the bench, he still managed to score 17 league goals, making him the team's third-highest scorer. This achievement is truly remarkable and demonstrates Bony's level of skill, proving he is absolutely capable of establishing himself in a top Europe club!
Bony felt that Guardiola's smile was sinister, with an indescribable sense of dread;
But the naive boy actually thought Guardiola was praising him and believed he would be kept on the team.
So he was secretly pleased, thinking his worries were unfounded. It seemed that as long as he could score goals, no matter who was coaching, Bony could still play for Manchester City!
However, Guardiola then patted Bony on the shoulder and changed the subject.
"Bony, you're a good lad, but unfortunately, I have to tell you honestly now that you're not a good fit for my tactical system. You're not good at passing the ball, and your individual skills are rather rough. You should go to a team that plays a more open and attacking style. There won't be a place for you at Manchester City next season."
Bony suddenly felt dizzy and saw stars...
Official: Bony transfers to Manchester United, signs three-year contract.
Fortunately, Bony's mentor Pellegrini, has not forgotten the Ivory Coast player he personally brought from Swansea to Manchester City.
On the one hand, Pellegrini was new to Manchester United and unfamiliar with the place, so he would definitely bring some of his former protégés to help him take control of the dressing room more quickly. Bony was one of his protégés.
After arriving at Manchester United, Pellegrini reflected deeply on why he couldn't compete with Guardiola.
After several sleepless nights, Pellegrini had an epiphany!
"Why should I insist on competing with Guardiola in possession-based football? He came from La Masia, he's a true Barca native, he played possession-based football at Barca as a player, and as a coach he further developed and popularized this style. In any case, I have inherent disadvantages and can't compete with him!"
Pellegrini believes that although the players' transfer fees at Manchester United are not much lower than those at Manchester City, none of them played a truly meaningful passing and possession game under Van Gaal or Mourinho.
Pellegrini decided to transplant his counter-attacking tactics from his time at Real Madrid to Manchester United.
In any case, as long as you can win the game and defeat your opponent, it's a good tactic!
As for whether or not Manchester United will play possession-based football, as long as they beat Manchester City and win the league title this season, they will have defeated Guardiola and proven themselves!
Bony, a physically strong and highly impactful Black player on the front line, is Pellegrini's best choice.
Although this player has rough footwork and cannot integrate into the passing and possession system, Bony's role in the open and wide counter-attacking tactics is not much worse than Agüero's.
It's even stronger in terms of impact and physical confrontation!
Therefore, it was only natural that Bony, who was purged by Manchester City, received an olive branch from Pellegrini.
On the other hand, Pellegrini had heard about Icardi's domineering behavior within Manchester United last season.
Upon arriving at the team, he first had a long talk with Manchester United captain Rooney, focusing on Icardi.
Rooney privately suggested to Pellegrini that they bring in a strong center forward to compete with Icardi.
After all, Rooney rarely plays as a center forward in Manchester United now, and the other forwards, whether it's Rashford, Depay, or Januzaj, are unable to effectively compete with Icardi.
With Bony's arrival, Pellegrini also wanted to subtly warn Icardi and make him nervous.
Compared to his initial praise followed by criticism of Bony, Guardiola showed some leniency. However, when it came to players from the French-speaking Faction, Guardiola went straight to the point and made harsh statements.
"If you stay with the team, you won't get any playing time next season!"
Yaya Toure, a player who worked with Guardiola at Barcelona for two years.
He joined Manchester City in 2010 for a transfer fee of 30 million euros precisely because of his disagreements with Guardiola's philosophy.
As soon as Guardiola took over Manchester City, Toure foresaw that he had no future Manchester City!
Fortunately Toure is already 33 years old, and after winning the league title this season, he has been considering retiring.
After negotiations, he terminated his contract with Manchester City a year early and joined Olympiacos in Greece as a free agent, playing semi-retired football in a foreign land.
France Mangala didn't need Guardiola to kick him out; Manchester City's management had already issued him a severance order beforehand.
Last season under Pellegrini, he did not perform well and was detached from the team's tactical system. Coupled with frequent injuries and high salary, no one wanted to buy him in the transfer market, and he could only join Valencia in La Liga on loan.
Negotiations with the club's left-back, Clichy, encountered some setbacks.
Clichy insisted on staying at Manchester City, believing that he was better than his rival Kolarov in both physical condition and technical skills, and was capable of playing in a possession-based tactical system.
He even went directly to CEO Begiristain's office and made a huge scene.
"I played for Manchester City for five years, so I'm considered a legend, right? It's unfair that they want to fire me just because they changed managers!"
However, his tough stance did not yield the desired result. Guardiola became even tougher, excluding him from first-team training and relegating him to the youth team to train with a group of seventeen- or eighteen-year-old kids.
Ultimately, Clichy was forced to leave for Turkey, bringing Manchester City a negligible €3 million transfer fee.
Like Clichy, 33-year-old right-back Sagna was forced to leave Manchester City.
However, his departure was relatively dignified. He went to play for Norwich in the Premier League for a transfer fee of 4 million euros, allowing him to continue his professional career in Top Five Leagues.
However, after clearing out four players —Toure, Clichy, Bony, and Mangala — Manchester City freed up ample salary space.
This will also help Manchester City in their transfer market operations.
Why did Guardiola so drastically purge the French-speaking Faction players as soon as he arrived at Manchester City?
If Toure was indeed forced to leave Manchester City due to personal grievances with Guardiola;
Mangala's competitive form was disrupted by recurring injuries;
However, there was a possibility that Bony, Clichy, and Sagna could stay.
Although Bony's footwork is rough and he is not suitable for passing and possession, as a tall striker, he still has the ability to break through in dense battles and can enrich Guardiola's tactical options;
Clichy and Sagna are both experienced and technically skilled players who have played in big games and made their names early on during their time at Arsenal.
After taking over Manchester City, Guardiola has given these two full-backs some guidance, and given their abilities, they may well be able to adapt to the new tactics.
However, Guardiola had planned to purge the French-speaking Faction before taking over Manchester City, and once he started, he was determined to see it through to the end without showing any mercy.
"Raymond, I've noticed something strange. Why do these French-speaking players sometimes seem to deliberately avoid passing the ball to Don?"
"Yes, Pep, I've noticed that problem too! It's not that their passing is unreasonable, it's just that sometimes when they could pass the ball or not, they don't choose to give it to Tang, but instead prefer to pass it to a few players inside the team."
Such discussions frequently occurred between Guardiola and his trusted scout Raymond during the second half of last season when they were reviewing Manchester City's matches.
As early as last season, Guardiola had a vague idea that the French-speaking Faction players in Manchester City did not have a good relationship with Tang Long.
After arriving at Manchester City, during an in-depth conversation with captain Kompany, he confirmed this guess with the Belgium's words!
Guardiola dislikes factionalism within the team, and upon arriving at the club, he also wants to establish his authority!
Personnel changes are the best tool for a new leader to establish authority!
The swift and decisive elimination of the French-speaking Faction served two purposes for Guardiola: it protected Tang Long, allowing him to grow smoothly, while also helping him establish his authority.
But this was just the appetizer. After that, Guardiola, together with CEO Begiristain and commercial director Berrada, began working on summer transfers.
A bloody storm is about to begin...