Nine words from Pep Guardiola increased one player's transfer fee by £10 million, claims Premier League manager

During Manchester City’s UEFA Champions last-16 tie with Sporting CP last season, Pep Guardiola made the audacious statement of describing Matheus Nunes as ‘one of the best players in the world today.’

Considering the Portuguese midfielder was a relatively unknown commodity at the time, the Sky Blues boss’ quotes made him an instant household name amongst football fans.

ℹ️📰 Local press went ‘crazy’, say @Sport_Witness, after Pep Guardiola called Matheus Nunes ‘one of the best players in the world’ following #ManCity’s 5-0 win over Sporting.

An inevitable transfer story, really.

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) February 17, 2022

In addition, the rumour mill went into overdrive about Manchester City themselves being interested in signing the 23 year-old.

It was understood that the club were keen on his arrival, considering there were murmurs about Ilkay Gundogan heading for the exit door.

There was also no knowing whether Bernardo Silva would stay put in East Manchester at the time.

One report had even suggested that both club officials had enjoyed Pep Guardiola’s restaurant, ‘Tast Catala’, where informal discussions involving the now-former Sporting star had taken place.

Sporting officials Frederico Varandas and Hugo Viana had a meal with #ManCity's Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain at Tast Catala in Manchester. Among many subjects, there was an ‘informal’ mention of midfielder Matheus Nunes.

[@Record_Portugal via @Sport_Witness]

— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) March 14, 2022

Since then, Ilkay Gundogan has been appointed as club captain, with rumours pointing towards a potential contract extension for the 31 year-old.

While interest from Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain seems to have been fended off by Manchester City, as Bernardo Silva is set to play his football at the Etihad Stadium this summer.

However, Matheus Nunes has gone on to join Wolves for a club-record fee of £42.2 million.

While the Midlands outfit were evidently keen on the highly-rated midfielder’s signature, Bruno Lage has revealed that he has a bone to pick with Pep Guardiola, after his outlandish claim about the club’s latest recruit.

“In that moment, I was upset with Pep (Guardiola)

"Because when Pep does a statement like that, the value of the player goes (up)!”, he joked.

The 46 year-old added, “When I am now looking for him, I will need to pay £10 million more"

"Because when any manager like Pep says one thing about one player, he puts £10 million more on the fee.”

Matheus Nunes playing keep ball ✨ pic.twitter.com/yjGX3oHuYe

— Wolves (@Wolves) August 22, 2022

With the Catalan tactician being widely regarded as the best manager in the world, it comes as no surprise that his word holds such weight in transfer dealings.

While Bruno Lage’s recent quotes are just tongue-in-cheek, it is ultimately a compliment to Pep Guardiola about how much his assessment is respected within the game.