Man City boss Pep Guardiola rated as GOAT Premier League manager ahead of Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is the GOAT Premier League manager ahead of Manchester United icon Sir Alex Ferguson, according to Robbie Savage.

The 51-year-old Spaniard has already carved out his place in the history books after a glittering managerial career that has included spells across Spain, Germany and England.

Guardiola hoovered up trophies during his four seasons at Barcelona, with the Spanish club winning three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues under his reign.

The former Barcelona manager went on to win three Bundesliga titles in each of his seasons at Bayern Munich before arriving at the Etihad in 2016.

Guardiola has continued to exert his managerial dominance in England and led City to four Premier League titles, including back-to-back league triumphs.

Savage, who was in United’s youth academy, insisted that the City head coach was the best manager he had witnessed in the Premier League’s history.

Following City’s third league title win under Guardiola’s reign, Savage said: “Pep improves players and that side is incredible.

“For me, the best manager I’ve witnessed in the Premier League.”

Joining former Wales midfielder Savage for the discussion on BT Sport was Rio Ferdinand, who won six league titles at United under Ferguson’s leadership.

United legend Ferdinand hilariously hit back at Savage for suggesting that Guardiola is the GOAT Premier League manager ahead of Ferguson.

“Sorry, like Chris Sutton said, you should go and get your coat for that,” he responded.

Despite Ferdinand’s quip, Savage doubled down on his comments and pointed to how Guardiola has evolved his teams in a bid to secure silverware.

However, the 47-year-old BT Sport pundit has admitted that a Champions League title at City would make Guardiola the “best ever” in his books.

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“Listen, the reason I’m saying, Sir Alex is, obviously the record he has, but in terms of overall, at Barcelona, at Bayern and at Manchester City, the way teams from the Premier League down to grassroots play like Manchester City, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Savage added.

“The way he evolves teams. Listen, he’s won trophies with teams he should win trophies with - Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man City - and if he wins the Champions League with Man City, for me, possibly the best ever. The best ever.”

The Champions League title has eluded Guardiola since his legendary spell at Barcelona, with City falling short of the trophy in 2021 after their defeat to Chelsea.