Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus was on top of the world at Manchester City two years ago. He signed for the sky blues because head coach Pep Guardiola wanted him on his team. However, Jesus’ career at the Etihad turned sour on a cold November night when Pep picked Oleksandr Zinchenko to play as a false nine against Paris Saint-Germain in their UEFA Champions League group stage clash.##NAJAVA_MECA_7362421##Reflecting on his time in Manchester, Jesus claimed that a snub from Guardiola left him crying in the dressing room, where he decided to leave City as soon an opportunity presented itself.”There was a Champions League game, PSG at home, in which Pep put Zinchenko as a false nine. Crazy thing. The day before, he didn’t even use Zinchenko in training. He had put me in as a striker. Two hours before the game, there’s a team talk; the team eats, rests for 30 minutes and goes to the game. Guardiola told us the team. I didn’t even eat. I went straight to the room, crying, I called my mother to tell her I wanted to leave.”Jesus came on after the Parisians had taken the lead and played a vital role in the comeback. He thought he’d earned his place in the side – but Guardiola had other ideas which pushed the Brazilian closer to the exit door.”I didn’t warm up. I felt bad. Five minutes into the second half, Mbappe scored the opening goal. Guardiola then called me to come on. I gave an assist and scored. We turned it around and won 2-1. In the next Champions League game, I thought I was going to play, and I didn’t.”Gabriel Jesus explica a diferença entre Pep Guardiola e Mikel Arteta pic.twitter.com/VG68iDl81y— Fala, Gooner! (@falagooner) July 5, 2023 The aftermath is well-known. A few months later, Gabriel Jesus became an Arsenal player. Ironically, Pep’s “false nine” Zinchenko also made the same move to join Mikel Arteta in North London. Pep’s methods and crazy ideas remain talking points among the fans – but after the Cityzens won their historic Treble – nobody can argue with the Catalan’s decisions anymore.
