Gabriel Jesus has revealed not just the reason but the very moment he decided to leave Manchester City following a difficult decision by his manager, Pep Guardiola, which made him cry.
The Brazilian striker joined Man City back in January 2017 and was expected to become Sergio Aguero‘s successor for the long term, but after being somewhat of a rotation player for a number of seasons and being threatened with the imminent arrival of Erling Haaland, Jesus decided to call it a day.
Although many might have naturally assumed that Haaland’s transfer in June last year simply rendered him surplus to requirements, especially with prolific youngster Julian Alvarez waiting in the wings as well, the 26-year-old, his desire to leave apparently dates back to November 2021.
Speaking on The Denilson Show podcast, Jesus detailed how he was left out of the starting lineup for a crucial home game against PSG in the Champions League and even though City were in need of a man up front, he chose to play defender/utility midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko “as a false nine”.
Jesus said his manager made him cry after benching him despite having no other strikers.
Describing the decision by Guardiola as a “crazy thing”, the Arsenal number nine went on to explain how “the day before, [Pep] didn’t even use [Zinchenko] in training” and naturally assumed that he would be playing as striker with Aguero having already left and there being no other real attacking options.
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Nevertheless, “two hours before the game” and before the team had their pre-match meal, the striker was told he wouldn’t be starting and says he “didn’t even eat” after hearing the news.
“I went straight to the room, crying”, he said; “I called my mother to talk: ‘I want to leave.’ I’m going home, because he put [Zinchenko] on, and he didn’t put me on. He put a left-back there. I went crazy.”
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Despite eventually coming on in the second half to replace the Ukrainian and not only set up the equaliser but score the late winner, he said that even after the game Zinchenko — who has since also left the club for the same destination — joked with him and admitted, “That day I felt bad for you”.
Man City have turned it around to take the lead against PSG!
Bernardo Silva with a velvet touch to lay it on a plate for Gabriel Jesus 👌
Even after being subbed on and having a game-changing impact, the same happened in the next game against RB Leipzig, with Jesus adding, “There was a lot of that with him [Guardiola], and it’s not easy… it’s really hard”.
“That’s when I decided I didn’t want to stay anymore and I decided to leave”, said Jesus, who ultimately went on to join Pep’s protégé Mikel Arteta, reunited with Zinchenko and with the Gunners finishing as runners-up in the 2022/23 Premier League title race. Not a bad first season.
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He has described the move as a positive one that has left him feeling “free on the pitch”, remotivated and “playing football with a smile on [his] face” again, even despite an injury ruling him out for a large chunk of the season.
You can watch the full interview with subtitles down below:
Gabriel Jesus on how Pep made him cry, playing under Arteta, his personal life and more.
Featured Image — Gabriel Jesus/Manchester City (via Instagram)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
7th July 2023 
