boss held a one-on-one meeting with captain to convince him to reject a move to Arsenal.
The England international is at the centre of a tug-of-war between Arsenal and City.
West Ham this morning rejected City’s opening bid for Rice, which was believed to be an initial £80m with a further £10m of add-ons.
That’s more than both of Arsenal’s previous bids but West Ham are holding out for more than £100m.
Arsenal have put up significant groundwork into a move to sign Rice, with the midfielder said to favour a move to the Emirates.
That’s in part down to how early Mikel Arteta made contact with the player and sold him a vision of becoming a prominent figure of Arsenal for years to come.
But the Guardian say Guardiola intervened towards the end of last season in a bid to convince him to join City instead.
City have greater financial muscle than Arsenal but a decision will come down to where Rice would prefer to move.
With Ilkay Gundogan joining Barcelona, a place in City’s midfield has been freed up.
There is also doubt over Bernardo Silva’s future at the club given interest from Saudi Arabia.
Arsenal are expected to submit a third bid for Rice this week, while Manchester United retain an interest.
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