Topics: Pep Guardiola, Rio Ferdinand, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Champions League
Rio Ferdinand says he received a text from Pep Guardiola before Manchester CIty's Champions League win over Real Madrid insisting his side would defeat the reigning champions.
City romped to victory against the 14-time Champions League winners on Wednesday, running out 4-0 victors in a game they dominated from start to finish as they moved one step closer to winning the competition for the first time ever.
Guardiola's men lost to Madrid at the same stage last year as Carlo Ancelotti and Co. went to the final to beat Liverpool, and it appears that was a hot topic of conversation between Guardiola and former Manchester United defender Ferdinand.
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"Pep Guardiola texted me before the game and said, 'We beat them two years ago and we will beat them again, believe me'," Ferdinand said.
Footage has also emerged on Twitter of Guardiola approaching Ferdinand, who was working at the Etihad as a pundit for BT Sport, and pointing, seemingly in an attempt to show that he was proven right.
It was actually three years ago, in 2020, that Guardiola's City beat Madrid in the Champions League.
They managed to win 2-1 at the Bernabeu in the first leg - a feat they didn't achieve this year - before replicating the same result at the Etihad the week after to move to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Last year, City won the first leg of the two sides' semi-final tie, and looked to have one foot in the final, leading 5-3 on aggregate with just minutes remaining.
Rodrygo, however, scored two goals moments before time to take the tie to extra time, where Karim Benzema fired in a penalty and took Madrid to Paris for the final.
There was no contest this time round in truth, however, with City rampant at the Etihad as Bernardo Silva twice found the net before an Eder Militao own goal and Julian Alvarez finish put the icing on the cake. One wonders if Rio will be on the phone to Pep again before the final - or maybe before City face United in the FA Cup final...
