A coach who worked under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City has confused fans after he sent a message to the Spaniard over Instagram.
Domenec Torrent spent over a decade as Guardiola's assistant before taking over as the New York City manager in 2020.
The 62-year-old, who is now in charge of Mexican club Atlético San Luis, was on the sidelines as Barcelona lifted two Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles during a dominant reign.
Advert
After leaving the Camp Nou with Guardiola, Torrent enjoyed a trophy-laden spell at Bayern Munich before spending two years in Manchester, where he watched the Citizens win the Premier League title in 2017/18.
Seven years on and City are 17 points behind league leaders Liverpool ahead of their much-anticipated clash at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon.
In the build-up to this weekend's Premier League fixture, Torrent has posted a picture of himself and Guardiola on his Instagram story alongside the caption: "You'll never walk alone".
Here's how fans on social media reacted to the bizarre post.
Advert
One said: "It's funny how it looks like either he's giving his support to Pep or he's going to Liverpool," and another commented: "He’s probably saying 'I got your back'. Timing and choice of words will surely create an outrage for some."
A third wrote: "Arsenal fans being outraged at this when we lose to Liverpool is so bait."
A fourth added: "Is he asking us to lose to Liverpool or like is this a motivation thing?"
Advert
Speaking ahead of the game this weekend, Liverpool manager Arne Slot was full of praise for their upcoming opponents, just days after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.
"The style is the same even if they wear different shirts. It is a Guardiola side, even when they drop points," he said. "But even he needs quality players. If he has so many players out, in this league, it is so very hard
"They have signed three or four players and I can see them coming back already if you look at the 4-0 result against Newcastle.
"You have to suffer as well and work really hard to keep them away from your goal because they are so, so good in possession. But they face a strong visiting team as well who have not lost in 22 [league] games in a row."
Topics: Manchester City, Liverpool, Pep Guardiola, Premier League
Jack Kenmare