Pep Guardiola defends decision to sell Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to Chelsea and Arsenal

believes he was right to sell off some of ’s biggest stars but admits he does not want anyone else to leave.

It has been a summer of big change at the Etihad, as not only have there been several major signings, including and , but also several major departures.

Not only have Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko all left, but the trio have moved to Premier League rivals, with the former joining Chelsea and the latter two heading to Arsenal.

Sterling and Jesus especially had played a huge role in the Citizens’ success over the past few seasons, winning multiple league titles and domestic cups together and scoring a combined 226 goals.

After completing their respective transfers, the trio have each expressed that one of the major motivations for leaving City was the increasing lack of game time, with Guardiola often benching the players in favour of the likes of Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez and Joao Cancelo.

Sterling has been especially vocal on the matter, just recently saying: ‘Everyone wants to feel wanted, football is no different. When you play your heart out, sacrifice some of your kids’ birthdays, and then get treated in a certain way, it’s disappointing.

‘At the time I was fuming, raging. It was a shame to see how it ended in the end because I had such a great time there.’

Now, Guardiola has said that it was because of these feelings that he allowed Sterling, Jesus, and Zinchenko, and indeed any other player at City to move on, though he added that he did not wish for anyone else to leave this summer.

‘If you force one person to stay when he doesn’t want to stay how can you get the best from him? It’s impossible,’ the manager told Sky Sports ahead of City’s game at Newcastle on Sunday.

‘I wouldn’t want to move anyone on now. I love this squad I have.

‘I feel comfortable training with them because after six, seven years we know each other incredibly well. In the bad moments I know how they react; they are incredible professionals.

‘I would love to stay all together but at the same time the transfer window ends in 10-15 days and if a player wants to leave then we will find a solution. Which one, I don’t know but we will find it.’

While no more incomings are expected this summer, Guardiola may have to deal with a possible departure, with Barcelona targeting Bernardo Silva but City have already expressed that they would not listen to offers below their €100million (£84m) valuation of the attacking midfielder.

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