Gabriel Jesus discloses what Guardiola did that hurt him at Man City

Gabriel Jesus reveals what Guardiola did

Gabriel Jesus discloses what Guardiola did that hurt him at Man City

Stephen Oladehinde 20:43 - 06.07.2023

Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus has opened up on his time at Manchester City and almost quit playing for the team.

Sergio Aguero, who maintained control of the No. 9 position, frequently outplayed Jesus during his six years at City, where he was in and out of the starting Lineup.

The striker departed the Etihad and joined Arsenal who finished the 2022/2023 season in second position behind Man City.

The forward has enjoyed a good start at his new club. Despite missing almost four months of the previous season, he managed to score 11 goals in 26 appearances and has six assists.

The Brazilian acknowledges that after Pep Guardiola selected Oleksandr Zinchenko ahead of him, he was left in tears and informed his mother he wanted to leave Manchester City.

Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus in action
Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus in action

Jesus explain how Guardiola hurt him

Jesus' was hurt one European night when the manager Pep Guardiola picked a defender ahead of him against PSG.

The Brazilian told the Denilson Show podcast as reported by the Mirror, "There was a Champions League game, PSG, at home in which he put Zinchenko as a false 9. Crazy thing. 

“The day before, he didn't even use him in training, he had put me in as a striker. Zinchenko even joked with me: 'That day I felt bad.

"Two hours before the game, there's a team talk, the team eats, rests for 30 minutes and goes to the game... I didn't even eat. 

“I went straight to the room, crying. I called my mother to say, I want to leave. I'm going home because he put (Zinchenko) on. He put a left-back there. I went crazy."

If Zinchenko had been playing as an attacker instead of a defender, he could have been able to handle it, but Guardiola took the unusual choice to do so despite there being no sign of a tactical change.

Jesus score the winning goal 

Despite Kylian Mbappe giving PSG the lead, Jesus still came in as a substitute to score the winning goal for Man City.

Jesus continued, "I didn't warm up. I felt bad. Five minutes after Mbappe scored the goal for 1-0, [Guardiola] called me. 

“I gave an assist and scored; we turned it around 2-1. In the next [Champions League] game [a 2-1 win at RB Leipzig], I thought I was going to play, and I didn't play.

"There was a lot of that with him [Guardiola], and it's not easy. But one [player] evolves. It is really hard. That's when I decided, I didn't want to stay anymore. And I decided to leave."

Jesus was subsequently passed over for a later Champions League match, which he thought he would start, despite his heroics off the bench. This just fueled his desire to leave the Etihad and look for a new challenge.