Pep Guardiola names shock Man City player he regrets getting rid of after just one season

Pep Guardiola once named a shock player he regrets allowing to leave Manchester City after he had been in charge for just a year.

Guardiola joined City in the summer of 2016 to succeed Manuel Pellegrini at the Etihad Stadium.

After finishing third in his first season in the dugout at the club, Guardiola has gone on to build an era of success at City comparable with any previous spell for other sides.

City have won the Premier League six times under Guardiola, as well as two FA Cups, four League Cups, the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup.

City have recently lost their Premier League crown to Arne Slot's Liverpool and are currently in a tight battle with several other clubs to secure Champions League football next season, but have booked a place in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.

After his first season in charge, Guardiola embarked upon a revamp of the City squad which saw the likes of Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte and Ederson join the club.

Several stars departed too including Gael Clichy, Pablo Zabaleta, Samir Nasir, Bacary Sagna, Aleksandar Kolarov and Wilfried Bony.

And it is one player who left that very summer whom Guardiola regrets seeing depart.

Jesus Navas joined City in the summer of 2013 from Sevilla for nearly £15m and scored eight goals in 183 games for the club, winning the Premier League title and two League Cups.

Navas departed City on a free transfer in 2017 as he returned to hometown club Sevilla, whom he played for in a second spell until last summer when he retired after representing the club 705 times in all competitions and scoring 40 goals.

Jesus Navas and Pep Guardiola. (Image: Getty)

And Guardiola admitted that he wished he had decided to extend Navas' contract while speaking in a video message played after he played his final match before retiring from football last summer.

Speaking in the video, Guardiola said: "Thank you for the gift of having spent a year together.

"You don’t know how much I regret letting you go. I would have loved for you to stay longer here, but sometimes you make mistakes."

He added: "Congratulations to all Sevillistas for having had such an extraordinary player and a person who defines Sevillismo.

"For many years to come, Sevillistas, don’t let him slip away. Keep him close and with all of you. Farewell."

Navas also won 56 caps for Spain and scored five goals, being part of the squads which won the 2010 World Cup and the European Championships in 2012 and 2024.