Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has 'ruined football' according to a former Premier League icon.
Guardiola, 53, arrived at the Etihad Stadium after spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich back in 2016.
Since then, the former Spain international has solidified his legacy as one of the best football managers of all time.
Advert
Having won countless honours all over Europe, Guardiola is continuing to chase down more success this season.
But his style of play has irked an ex-Everton legend who claims his tactics are somewhat flawed.
"Pep Guardiola has ruined football," began former USMNT international Tim Howard recently.
Advert
"Pep Guardiola has taught everybody that they can play expansive football. They can’t.
"Not everybody can do it, 3 teams in the world can do it really well."
It remains to be seen whether Guardiola will respond to the bold remarks made by Howard.
Back in April, the City boss disregarded claims made by Roy Keane that Erling Haaland was a League Two striker.
Advert
If the former Bayern boss is anything, he is loyal and often keen to put pundits in their place when required.
"I’m not agreeing with him [Keane], absolutely not," Guardiola said.
"It’s like he said: 'he’s a manager for the second or third league'. I don’t think so.
Advert
"He [Haaland] is the best striker in the world and he helped us to win what we won last season.
"The reason why we didn’t create enough chances is not from Erling. We need more presence in the final third with more people.
"We played an exceptional game. I reviewed the game against Arsenal, but we missed more people in the final third.
"Maybe for the quality and different skillset we have, but Erling is exceptional.
Advert
"Some actions he missed, sometimes it's the managers, sometimes the opponent is really good, there are many many reasons.
"In football there is not just one reason, sometimes where you have success or you don't have success, there are many reasons, it's football, it's a team sport."
Manchester City have begun this season in fine form and will be bidding to extend their unbeaten start when they host Watford in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
Topics: Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Manchester United
Matthew Holt