Franck Ribery isn’t sad to see his former coach join Manchester City.
The Bayern Munich winger has criticised Pep Guardiola twice this week alone, firstly by comparing him unfavourably to seemingly every other Bayern manager he has played under, including new manager, Carlo Ancelotti.
Ribery referred to the Italian as “a gift for the club.”
“I feel free and I am fully motivated,” the Frenchman told German publication Kicker.
“Since Ancelotti has arrived, I feel more trust. He’s a great coach. I need people like him, Jupp Heynckes or Ottmar Hitzfeld. I need this trust in me, to play off my strengths.
“It all depends on things like trust, respect and proximity. Then I cannot only give 100 percent – I can give 150 percent.”
Ribery was just warming up though, and has since accused Guardiola – who has won six league titles and two Champions League crowns as a manager – of lacking experience, and being, in his opinion, overly controlling of his players.
“I don’t need a coach to tell me what I have to do right on the pitch when I have the ball,” Ribery told Bild.
“He is still a young coach. He lacks experience. Sometimes he (Guardiola) talks too much, football is very simple.
“You can’t make a mistake in the semi-finals of the Champions League, you have to have the big names, your best players, on the field.”
That last barb was undoubtedly a reference to Guardiola’s decision to drop Thomas Muller from Bayern’s team that lot 1-0 to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final first-leg last season.
We doubt Ribery will be reuniting with Pep at City any time soon.