Rio Ferdinand told Robbie Savage to “get your coat” after the ex-midfielder claimed last night that Pep Guardiola is the greatest ever Premier League manager.
Savage was speaking last night on BT Sport, shortly after City’s Premier League triumph was confirmed following Manchester United‘s 2-1 defeat to Leicester City.
It is the seventh time the Citizens have won the top division of English football, with three of those titles arriving since Guardiola joined the club in 2016.
Their Premier League triumph is added to the League Cup trophy they won last month, with a Champions League final against Chelsea on May 29 on the horizon.
And Savage praised the Spaniard for the work he has done at City.
The ex-United and Blackburn Rovers midfielder said: “Pep improves players, and that side is incredible.
“For me, the best manager I’ve witnessed in the Premier League.”
However, Ferdinand seemingly wasn’t having any of that.
The former England international, of course, spent 11 years at United under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ferguson won an incredible 38 trophies during his time at Old Trafford, which spanned between 1986 and 2013, including 13 Premier League titles.
In response to Savage’s comments, Ferdinand said: “Sorry, like Chris Sutton said, you should go on get your coat for that!”
Savage replied: “Listen, the reason I’m saying that, Sir Alex is obviously [a contender], the record he has.
“But in terms of overall – at Barca, at Bayern, now at Manchester City – the way teams from the Premier League down to grassroots play at Manchester City, I’ve never seen anything like it.
“The way he evolves teams. He’s won trophies with teams he should win trophies with, but if he wins the Champions League for Man City, for me possibly the best ever.”
Ferdinand praises Guardiola work
Ferdinand then reserved great praise for the work Guardiola has done.
He said: “I think Pep, I love him. He’s a maverick. This season what he’s done especially, tactically the way he’s changed his team.
“He’s thickened up his midfield, got more bodies in, played with a false number nine, getting more bodies in the midfield to control the pace of the game. Not making it a basketball game, up and down.
“It was more about controlling possession, strangling teams.”
City have three more Premier League games to play this season, with Guardiola’s side next in action on Friday evening against Newcastle United.
They then travel to Brighton before finishing the season with a home game against Everton – an occasion which is set to see fans present at the Etihad Stadium for the first time since March 2020.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
