What’s the Story?
Gabriel Jesus who has had a flying start to his City career has explained the phone call that he received which convinced him to join Manchester City over Barcelona and Real Madrid. Both Spanish giants were interested in him but eventually, it was Guardiola who snapped up the highly talented youngster.
He explained that although other clubs were interested in him only the Manchester City manager made the effort to put in a personal phone call asking him to join the club. Speaking to Sky Sports he said, “Everyone that took part in my transfer did it perfectly. The decision was made when I received a call from Guardiola. He was the only manager that called me and I was very happy.”
The deal for Jesus was done in the summer but he only joined City from Palmeiras in January. With City needing some freshness in the squad after a disappointing run of form Jesus seems to have sparked new life into the club.
In case you didn’t know...
Gabriel Jesus is only 19 years of age but is already a full-fledged international for Brazil. He scored a brace on his debut for his country. He also recently bagged his first City goal against West Ham in the Premier League.
Sergio Aguero was dropped for the first time in a while by Pep Guardiola to accommodate the youngster and he delivered as well. At this rate, one of the best strikers in the world will have a tough time winning his place in the starting XI.
The heart of the matter
Jesus was signed by Manchester City for a fee of 27 million pounds but only joined the club in January. He helped his former club Palmeiras to their first ever league title since 1994. He was scouted by both Real Madrid and Barcelona but they waited too long to sign the player.
Pep Guardiola will be thankful he was able to secure his services considering the season City were having up until the beginning of January. It’s not common for managers to personally talk to players before moves but Pep Guardiola knew how good the Brazilian was.
Barcelona were supposedly early favorites for his signature but for some reasons did not make their move. Real Madrid were also tracking the youngster and if either of the two clubs had made more of an effort tot sign him it might have been a straightforward decision for the player.
What’s Next?
Jesus will now prove to be an important part of his team considering how important it is for Pep Guardiola to finish in the top 4. Their title hopes are pretty much over with Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Arsenal yesterday.
Now they will have t focus on the top four spots but also try and progress further in the UEFA Champions League.
Sportskeeda’s take
Barcelona and Real Madrid have missed out on a great talent and by letting him go to on of the richest clubs in the world, that might be the end of it for the Spanish giants
