- Manchester City face Chelsea on Saturday in the FA Cup semi-final.
- Cole Palmer will face his former club and coach Pep Guardiola
- Man City exhausted?! We are all tired, but it is dangerous to spread that message. Big games are what it’s all about: listen to the everything is beginning podcast
Pep Guardiola has claimed that Cole Palmer forcibly left Manchester City after wanting to leave for “two years”.
Palmer, who joined City’s academy at the age of eight, broke into Guardiola’s squad during Covid and decided to make a £42million move to Chelsea last summer.
The striker has since scored 20 Premier League goals, equaling Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot, and is set for a place in England’s squad for the Euros in Germany.
Palmer goes head to head with his former employers at Wembley for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final.
“He asked for two seasons to leave and I said I should stay,” Guardiola said. ‘He said he wanted to leave. What could we do? I said stay because Riyad [Mahrez] He left but for two seasons he wanted to leave.
Pep Guardiola revealed that Cole Palmer had been asking to leave Manchester City for two seasons
Guardiola praised Palmer, who has been in great form for Chelsea so far this season.
The Spaniard added that he felt that “he had not given Palmer the minutes he deserved”
Palmer is competing with former teammate Phil Foden for the PFA Player of the Year award after an impressive first campaign at Stamford Bridge.
“Playing at that level is exceptional,” Guardiola added. ‘He is an exceptional player. I didn’t give him the minutes that he perhaps deserved and now he has them at Chelsea. I completely understand it.
“He’s a shy guy with a lot of potential. It is what he is. He’s playing fantastic, what can I say? The decision was made for many reasons.”
Haaland is a doubt for the cup clash after coming off before Wednesday’s Champions League extra time, but Kevin De Bruyne is expected to be available.
Guardiola launched a firm defense of his stars after the penalty defeat. “Do you want to play 120 minutes like we played the last 80?” said the Catalan.
Palmer leads the Premier League’s top scorers this season with 20 goals.
On Monday he scored four goals and his second hat-trick of the season in City’s victory against Everton.
“Do you know what team we were facing? Did you expect them to not have the ball or the opportunities to create that?
‘And you thought we were going to win another treble? And next season another triplet? And win the Premier League by 20 points? Is not true. The most incredible thing is that we competed as a team until the end.”