‘The best in the world ‘ – Manchester City midfielder opens up on personal relationship with Pep Guardiola

Manchester City midfielder Matheus Nunes has opened up on his personal relationship with Etihad Stadium manager Pep Guardiola.

The Portugal international has endured a mixed start to life with the reigning Premier League champions after joining the club from Wolverhampton Wanderers on deadline day of the previous summer window.

Following some level of inconsistency when it came to starting positions in central midfield, Nunes has recently found opportunities to start for Pep Guardiola in the wider roles, especially during the simultaneous absence of Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku.

But regardless of the limited opportunities at some stages of the ongoing campaign, Nunes has been able to offer an insight into a special relationship with manager Pep Guardiola, who showed faith in the Portuguese midfielder’s talents last summer.

Speaking to BBC Sport ahead of the weekend’s clash with Newcastle United in the FA Cup quarter-final, Matheus Nunes has opened up on his ‘very good’ relationship with manager Pep Guardiola since joining the club last summer.

“It’s a very good relationship, he’s an amazing coach. He’s the best coach in the world,” Nunes exclaimed. “Our team plays the way everyone sees and watches every week, and it’s a lot to do with what he does, what he asks, his ideas.

“It was also a really strong reason for me to want to come here, because of him.”

When asked whether he feels he has become a better player in just the eight months he has been working under the Catalan coach, Nunes responded, “For sure. In terms of understanding, I’m not talking about major stuff because he doesn’t teach you major stuff, you already have this from other coaches you had, but little stuff like being alive all the time, not relaxing, being focussed 100 per cent, 90 minutes of the game. I think little things that he does makes us be the way we are.”

Nunes is currently embroiled in a hotly-contested Premier League title battle with his Manchester City colleagues, as they challenge Arsenal and Liverpool in particular for the top-flight crown at the end of the season.

“I mean, I hope,” Nunes responded when asked whether he believes City will retain their trophy come May. “That’s why we’re here, that’s why we work every day. There’s still a lot of games to go but we are there, very close.

“It’s football, you never know, everything can change very quick, but I think we’re going to be there at the end.”

Manchester City have an action-packed fixture list on the horizon throughout April, and Nunes is highly likely to be called-upon as Guardiola looks to rest and rotate his squad roster at various points across multiple competitions.