Pep Guardiola has admitted that he broke his own unwritten Manchester City transfer rule in re-signing Ilkay Gundogan from Barcelona.
Gundogan made his return to the Etihad Stadium on Friday, signing a one-year contract with the option of a further 12 months.
The 33-year-old departed City last summer upon the expiry of his previous contract, shortly after lifting the Champions League for the first time in his career.
But Barcelona allowed him to leave the club due to their ongoing financial issues, which are preventing them from registering marquee signing Dani Olmo for La Liga.
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According to The Athletic, Gundogan has retained close ties with City even after his move away from the club. Guardiola is said to have helped the Germany midfielder and his family find a house in Catalonia, and he also met up with several players including Bernardo Silva.
Guardiola admitted in his weekly press conference on Friday that he jumped at the chance to sign Gundogan again after it became clear there was an opportunity to do so.
And he says he broke an unwritten transfer rule in order to bring the midfielder back to Manchester.
He explained: "As a manager, I'm not a big, big fan of re-signing players with this age.
"But I know him quite well and his mentality is right. He's a huge competitor. And with the financial situation at Barcelona, he came back on a free.
"We talked about that and said, 'OK, we can do it'. The negotiations between the clubs were none of my business and the salary as well.
"He can play in the same position as Rodri, like Kovacic, like Nico [O'Reilly], like Matheus [Nunes].
"Rodri and Gundogan can play as attacking midfielders, or he can play as the false nine.
"Everyone respects Gundo. He's so intelligence and he's honest in his analysis, and puts the team and club in front of his own performances."
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Ilkay Gundogan, Football
Ryan Smart