Manchester City are now the blueprint for Barcelona and the German national side - who were the blueprint for Pep Guardiola when he first arrived at the Etihad.
In 2016, when Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City, Barcelona were still the envy of Europe and Germany were reigning World Champions and European semi-finalists.
Both sides are looking to return to former glories, and they know they can't get Guardiola - at least for another two years. So their solution? Do what Guardiola would do.Barcelona have signed Eric Garcia, Ferran Torres, Sergio Aguero, Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Cancelo from City in the last few years, with Gundogan the most eye-catching of the group having guided the Blues to the treble in the summer.
“There have been maybe two or three teams like City last year – at least since I’ve been following football," Gundogan said last week. "Barcelona around 2011, among others. Bild report that Flick wants to give Joshua Kimmich the role of an inverted right-back, and has taken direct inspiration from Guardiola. The report says that Flick showed his squad videos of City to illustrate his point, with a particular focus on John Stones' marauding role from right-back to midfield.
“They have won a lot in the past. We are new – we’ve won one title but it is not a [fair] comparison,” Guardiola said before a Champions League last-16 second leg with Basel.
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