Pep Guardiola hails Everton counterpart Ronald Koeman ahead of match in Etihad

Pep Guardiola has hailed Everton boss Ronald Koeman as he prepares to pit his wits against his former Barcelona teammate at the Etihad on Saturday.

The pair spent five years as teammates at the Nou Camp and the Manchester City boss says he learned a lot from the Dutchman during that time.

“We spent a lot of time and he was so generous, not only on the pitch," Guardiola said.

“I learned a lot just from looking at him. He was one of the first central defenders with the quality not just to defend.


“Johan Cruyff bought Ronald Koeman to show us, to teach us why we need a central defender like Ronald.

“He was one of the few guys I never saw felt or miss an important game. I never saw him play a bad game in an important game.”

City will be without Bacary Sagna, with Guardiola hinting he could play another player at right-back rather than recognised choice Pablo Zabaleta.

The City boss also said the Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling are all 'much, much, much better', but said they would not all feature.

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Yaya Toure's Agent may take Legal Action against Guardiola over axing of Midfielder

Pep Guardiola could find himself in court over his treatment of Yaya Toure . Toure has been told he will not play for Manchester City again unless his agent apologises for comments made to Sunday Mirror Sport three weeks ago about the way Guardiola axed the Ivorian from his Champions League squad.

But while Toure’s outspoken adviser, Dimitri Seluk, has been scathing of the Catalan’s decision to ditch the 33-year-old from his Euro plans, the player himself has kept his counsel.

And Seluk believes City are in breach of contract by standing by Guardiola’s banishment of the midfielder from his first-team squad.

Seluk said: “What Guardiola is doing is illegal.

"He thinks he can act like this because Yaya is in the last year of his contract and FIFA’s regulations say we can only appeal about this decision at the end of the season.

"But the fact is that Yaya is being punished for things he hasn’t said.

“As his agent and friend, it is my job to speak if I feel Yaya is not being treated fairly. But Yaya himself has acted professionally and has not said anything about Guardiola and his situation in Manchester.

“I believe this breaks employment law, so we will see.” FIFA regulations state a player can walk away from his contract if he is not selected for at least 10 per cent of his club’s games when he is free of both injury and suspension.

But any appeal can only be lodged at the end of a season.

City are reported to be ready to let Toure leave during the January transfer window but they have yet to give Seluk permission to speak to any interested clubs.

They would also have to pay up the remaining eight months of the midfielder’s contract - around £10million - in full.

Toure’s £220,000-a-week deal also includes a lucrative package of bonuses which would see him walk away with millions more if City are successful over the coming months.

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Read Yaya Toure's agent strong response to Pep Guardiola: 'If he wants a war, he can have one'

Yaya Toure's outspoken agent Dimitri Seluk has warned: "If Pep Guardiola wants a war, then he can have one."

Seluk, the Barcelona-based Russian who has looked after Toure's career since he was a teenager, once again started shooting from the lip after Guardiola threatened to leave the Ivory Coast international on the sidelines.

The Spaniard wants an apology from his adviser for an interview he did with Sunday Mirror Sport earlier this month.

Seluk had accused the City boss of being disrespectful to Toure after leaving him out of his Champions League squad.

And he insisted that Guardiola should "have the balls" to apologise to the 33-year-old if he failed to make City European champions this season.

Guardiola responded on Tuesday by telling Toure that he will won't play for City again unless Seluk issues a personal apology.

But, in an exclusive interview with Mirror Sport, Seluk hit back with another scathing attack on the Catalan.

Seluk said: "If Pep Guardiola wants a war, then he can have one.

"Pep didn't like my opinion? But what does he expect me to say when he does this to Yaya?

"Yaya is a player who has made history for Manchester City.

"He has won the Premier League twice, he has won the FA Cup, he has won the League Cup twice and he helped them reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time.

"I spoke out because I felt that Pep was being vindictive to Yaya.

"Unfortunately for Pep, we live in a world where you have the right to free speech.

"He has reacted to what I have said about him by punishing Yaya again. But I'm not surprised."

Seluk added: "Pep doesn't want players with personality. He only wants players who are scared of him and will do what he says.

"The first thing he did when he arrived at City was to pick a fight with Yaya and Joe Hart, two of the club's biggest players.

"Hart is England's goalkeeper; Yaya has won the African Footballer of the Year four times.

"They have both been big personalities in the dressing room at City and Guardiola doesn't like that.

"When you first go into someone's house then you should treat them with respect. You don't go into someone's house and ask them to leave.

"He was the same at Barcelona.

"He forced Samuel Eto'o to leave the club. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a player who cost £57million, was sold for just £18million.

"It has to always be about Pep Guardiola, no-one else."

Seluk seemed to rule out the possibility of issuing an apology to Guardiola.

He said: "Will I apologise? Well, I have learned that you must never say never.

"But will Pep apologise to Yaya? Will he apologise to Joe Hart or Manuel Pellegrini?

"Look what Guardiola did to Pellegrini. He took his job when he was still fighting for titles.

Colleagues should have respect for each other, especially in England where it is important to act like a gentleman."

And the Russian also feels that Guardiola' reputation as the world's best coach is also undeserved - despite a stellar career at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

He said: "Pep was successful at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but take a look behind that success.

"The team he took at Barca had been built by Frank Rijkaard and then he was lucky to have Lionel Messi. It was Messi who made Barca, not Pep.

"Luis Enrique has shown that Barca's success was not down to Guardiola.

"It was the same in Munich. Bayern won the Treble before Guardiola took over. They already had a great team on the pitch and a great organisation off the pitch.

"He couldn't fail. My grandfather could have won the league with that team.

"Carlo Ancelotti will keep Bayern at the top - but the difference is that i also think he will win the Champions League there.

"When Guardiola left Bayern there were a lot of happy people there once he had gone. He wasn't popular.

"If Pep wants to prove himself as a great manager, then he should go to Zaragoza or Sunderland.

"Let's see how good he is when he doesn't take over a great team and hasn't got half-a-billion pounds to spend.

"Could he do what Claudio Ranieri has done at Leicester or Mauricio Pochettino has done at Tottenham?

"Well we will never know because if City don't win the league and the Champions League this season they will just give him another £100million or £200million to spend until he gets it right. That isn't good management."

It seems Toure, who should be remembered as one of City's greatest players will now spend the last eight months of his £225,000-a-week contact on the sidelines.

Seluk said: "Yaya is a professional. He will keep doing everything that is asked of him and he will walk away from the club at the end of the season with his pride.

"If City want to keep paying him not to play then that is up to them.

"But when his contract is over, he will tell the truth about Pep Guardiola and Manchester City's fans will not like it."

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Pep Guardiola: Yaya Toure will not play again for Manchester City until the player's camp apologises

Yaya Toure will not play again for Manchester City until the player's camp apologises for comments made by his agent, manager Pep Guardiola vowed on Tuesday.

Dimitri Seluk accused the City manager of "humiliating" Toure, 33, by leaving him out of the club's Champions League squad at the start of this month.

The Ivorian midfielder, who announced his retirement from international duty on Tuesday, has not figured in a single City match-day squad since then.

"The day after that, his agent spoke and in that moment, Yaya is out," Guardiola told a press conference.

"Unless Mr Dimitri Seluk comes back to the press or to his friends in the media because he hasn't the courage to call me, he goes to the media and apologises to Manchester City first of all, then his teammates and afterwards the trainer.

"When that happens, Yaya will be part of the group and he will have the chance to play."

Toure has recovered from a migraine that made him unavailable for Saturday's 4-0 Premier League win over Bournemouth, but he will not be considered for Wednesday's League Cup tie at Swansea City.

Seluk had said: "If he (Guardiola) wins the Champions League for City this season, then I will travel to England and I will say on television that Pep Guardiola is the best manager in the world.

"But if City don't win the Champions League, then I hope that Pep has got the balls to say that he was wrong to humiliate a great player like Yaya."

In response to Guardiola's remarks on Tuesday, Seluk said he would only apologise if the City manager said sorry to both his predecessor Manuel Pellegrini and outcast goalkeeper Joe Hart.

CRUYFF RESPECT

"I will apologise to Guardiola if he will apologise to Pellegrini for what he did to him," Seluk told Sky Sports News.

"If you are a gentleman, this just does not happen. He signed a new contract last year then he gets pushed out for Guardiola to come in. Pellegrini was a gentleman.

"Guardiola also needs to apologise to Joe Hart. It's not right to come to England and then get rid of a few English players.

"Guardiola wants a new future for Yaya, for Hart, and they won't be the last." Toure, who is in the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium, has featured just once for City since Guardiola's arrival.

He played the full 90 minutes of their Champions League play-off second-leg victory over Steaua Bucharest in August.

Guardiola added: "I cannot accept as a coach that every agent, when his player doesn't play, goes to the media and speaks.

"I know how much Dimitri Seluk loves Yaya Toure. If he loves him, show me by apologising to Manchester City for what he said in the papers."

Guardiola said that, as a player at Barcelona in the early 1990s, he would never have dared to allow his agent to speak out against Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, then the club's manager.

"I cannot imagine in my day when a player's agent would go to the media and speak against Johan Cruyff," he said.

"Maybe it's the new era, but I'm from the old generation, and an old-generation agent has to make his players his job and the coach his job.

"Today agents believe they are more than they are. If you have a problem, we can talk. Until he speaks, Yaya isn't going to play."

Toure has been at City since 2010 and has won two Premier League titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup during that time.

While Toure will play no part at Swansea, captain Vincent Kompany could return, having not played since April after undergoing groin and thigh surgery.

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