Neville said Guardiola allowed Jesus and Sterling to move to Arsenal and Chelsea respectively because of a summer arrival at the Etihad
By Kehinde Okeowo
Manchester United legend, Gary Neville, has justified why Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola allowed Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling to join their Premier League (PL) rivals in the summer.
Jesus and Sterling, two players who played prominent roles in City’s Premier League dominance under Pep Guardiola in recent seasons, moved to the Emirates and Stamford Bridge respectively last summer.
They were not the only players allowed to join local rivals, Ukrainian utility player, Oleksandr Zinchenko was also allowed to join Jesus at Arsenal.
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Neville has now linked Guardiola’s decision to sanction the moves for Jesus and Sterling to the arrival of Julian Alvarez in the summer.
Alavarez, who joined City from Argentina side, River Plate, has enhanced his burgeoning reputation during Argentina’s run to the 2022 World Cup final.
Neville speaking via Sky Sports’ World Cup podcast said: “I was told a year ago when City let Jesus and Sterling go – because I was quite surprised that City let both go at the same time – that this kid [Alvarez] was the reason.
“Someone said that to me, that is quite close to City, that he was the reason and they didn’t want to block his path,”
