Pep Guardiola has laughed off criticism from Fabio Capello after the former England manager accused the Manchester City boss of ruining Italian football.
Capello branded Guardiola “arrogant” and said the implementation of his passing style in Serie A meant the league had “lost its identity.”
The Italian’s comments were put to Guardiola at a news conference on Friday but instead of hitting back he chose to offer “a big hug” to his counterpart.
“I listen to everything that people say about me, so be careful,” Guardiola said. “It’s not the first time Mr Fabio Capello has said that. I’m not good enough to ruin Italian football, it is very important. A big hug for Fabio.”
Guardiola was in the unusual position of watching the Champions League round-of-16 games from home rather than being involved on the touchline.
City’s early exit in the play-off round meant the 54-year-old was able to watch Liverpool against Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid against Atlético Madrid on TV.
Guardiola has always reached at least the round of 16 in his previous Champions League campaigns, but said he had no problem watching this year’s knockout rounds from afar.
“It doesn’t hurt,” he said. “I don’t have any disappointment. We don’t deserve to be there. I am just a spectator to learn and enjoy. There are incredible teams like Atlético, Liverpool who are out.
“This competition, what happened with Julián [Álvarez] and Atlético. The margins. Can you imagine you are out of the Champions League for that reason?
“Nobody has to explain to me how special it is but this season we didn’t deserve to be there. In this season, we deserve to be on the sofa with a glass of wine. So, hopefully we can do better, qualify for next season.”
