Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are in something of a crisis if their current situation is compared to expectations at the beginning of the season and all throughout the time the manager was linked with a move to the club.
Understandably receiving criticism in the English media, the negative reports are now spreading around the European and world press.
SportBild get straight to the point in their magazine this week and give a blunt assessment. They explain that when Guardiola was manager at Bayern Munich everything was ‘super, super, super’.
There’s not much, if any, excuse making for Guardiola and it’s pointed out the manager has already spent a lot at Manchester City, but his signings haven’t worked out.
John Stones is singled out as the personification of what’s gone wrong, and Claudio Bravo of course gets a mention.
From a German perspective, there’s worry about the future of Leroy Sane. A big money signing from Schalke in the summer, Sane has only managed 392 minutes in the Premier League so far, but he has got a goal and an assist.
SportBild believe Guardiola will try to rework things with Gabriel Jesus, which they believe could pose further issues for Sane.
Guardiola and Manchester City receiving negative press isn’t largely confined to the English media, the club’s current struggles is one of the bigger football stories across the board.