Pep Guardiola has branded claims Manchester City were ‘arrogant’ during their pre-season tour of China as ‘false’ and ‘far away from reality’.
China’s state-run news agency Xinhua published an editorial which criticised the Premier League champions for their conduct while playing in the Asia Trophy last week.
While their three opponents, Newcastle, Wolves and West Ham, were all praised for doing all they could to involve themselves in the local culture, City were accused of visiting China to ‘win wallets, not hearts and minds’.
The editorial, headlined ‘Chinese fans’ love for Man City goes unreciprocated on home soil’, also claimed City would ‘leave China with neither’ after saying the other English teams won ‘a new-found respect and new fans’.
Guardiola disagrees with the editorial, however, saying in a press conference that the view published by Xinhua does not, in fact, mirror reality.
“I should say I don’t agree and also that it’s false,” said the City manager. “To make a statement like this they have to know exactly what happened here in our club.
“We had an incredible time in Shanghai. We were committed to the co-operation you have to do here in China. The people from the hotel, all the people, were asking us to do things and we were ready to do that.
“To come to Asia and experience the culture, the restaurants – it’s amazing to get to know other people.
“That’s why I can’t understand what people are saying. Maybe one journalist is a bit upset, I don’t know why – but it’s far away from the reality.
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“We came here and 23 hours later travelled two hours by train to play in Nanjing then back to Shanghai. Now we are here and then to Tokyo. And always with the biggest smile.
“We don’t sleep too well during the nights but, even so, we make good training sessions for all the guys.
“I’ve been impressed with my players so far and let’s see for the rest of the tour. I completely disagree with the journalist – that’s not the reality.”
Raheem Sterling, the England forward, was also positive about the experience in the Far East, confirming he and his team-mates did engage with local supporters during their time off.
He added: “Every time we got back from training to the hotel we embraced the fans, we signed signatures, we said our goodbyes. I thought there was a really good connection.
“We came a little bit later than we expected to China, the turnaround was a bit faster and a few of us struggled with sleep but I thought China was a great experience. You ask the boys, they all loved it.”
City were defeated in the Premier League Asia Trophy final by Wolves, after beating West Ham in their semi-final.
