Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has piled on the praise for City boss Pep Guardiola, claiming that every manager in world football ‘wants to be’ the Catalan.

The latest round of praise for the Manchester City boss comes as the reigning Treble winners continue in their pursuit of retaining their historic successes of last campaign, competing on three fronts heading into the business end of the season.

Alongside the Premier League title battle with Arsenal and Liverpool, Manchester City also face an FA Cup semi-final tie against Chelsea in April alongside a UEFA Champions League quarter-final double-header against Real Madrid.

Manchester City’s continued pursuit of success and Pep Guardiola’s unrelenting passion and drive for the sport has seen widespread praise come in from all corners of the game, but most recently from the captain of the club’s bitter city rivals, Bruno Fernandes.

Speaking to Portuguese outlet A Bola during the ongoing international break, as translated and relayed by MailSport, Fernandes reiterated his view of Pep Guardiola being the ‘best coach in the world’ in one sentence alone.

“We are talking about the best coach in the world, without a shadow of a doubt,” Fernandes exclaimed, as he links up with Manchester City’s Ruben Dias, Matheus Nunes, and Bernardo Silva on international duty. “In recent years, he has been the best coach in the world.”

Fernandes continued by claiming that every coach in world football ‘wants to be’ the Manchester City manager himself, presumably including his own manager, Erik ten Hag. “He is probably the coach who most changed the game of football.

“Nowadays, everyone wants to be Guardiola, there’s no need to hide that. All teams, from the second to the first divisions, everyone tries to play like City and everyone tries to find the dynamics that City has, because they have results and success.”

The Manchester United captain continued, “For me, having praise from a coach like Guardiola is something spectacular, because, as I said, we are talking about a coach that I really appreciate and who, for me, today, is the best coach in the world.”

Bruno Fernandes and Manchester City could yet be reunited in a third clash this season, with both clubs competing at the semi-final stage of the FA Cup, with the Portugal international’s Red Devils taking on Coventry City at Wembley next month.

City have defeated Manchester United in both of their Premier League meetings this season, with the latest encounter finishing 3-1 in favour of Guardiola’s players thanks to a Phil Foden brace and Erling Haaland effort at the Etihad Stadium earlier this month.