It’s no secret that when Gabriel Jesus switched Manchester City for Arsenal last summer, he was searching for more game time.
The Brazilian would frequently play under Pep Guardiola, but never really had a guaranteed spot in the team.
Jesus was this week interviewed by the Denilson Show podcast, and UOL features some interesting quotes about his time at Manchester City.
The striker recalled a Champions League gamed played in November 2021. He claims he was confident he’d be their striker in that match, and Pep Guardiola found a way to change the whole attack.
“There was a game in which he put Zinchenko as a false 9. Do you know which game? PSG, at home, in the Champions League. Crazy thing. The day before, he didn’t put Zinchenko to train there, I was the training striker. Zinchenko even joked with me: ‘I felt bad for you’. Two hours before the game, he gave the team,” said Gabriel Jesus.
“I didn’t even eat, I went straight to the room crying, I called my mother: ‘I want to leave, I’m going home’. There was only me to put on and he put on a left-back. I went crazy with him.”
It turns out that Manchester City ended up winning the match. That was the campaign that they got knocked out by Real Madrid in the semifinals, and Jesus was a starter in both matches against the Spanish giants, probably as a sign that Guardiola did have some trust in him.
The Brazilian stayed at Manchester City for five and a half years. In his time at the club, he had 236 appearances, scored 95 goals and provided 46 assists.
Now these quotes show his confidence at the club wasn’t always the best.
