The easiest choice a manager has to make is deciding to get rid of a player he doesn't like - and Pep Guardiola has done it on multiple occasions. There have been players who he quickly realised were not good enough for his team, such as Kalvin Phillips and Ferran Torres, who lasted less than 18 months at Manchester City. Then there have been players whose talent and quality were not in doubt, but whose attitude meant they were impossible for him to work with, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic when he was at Barcelona or Joao Cancelo at City.
The hardest thing for a manager is to know when to cut loose a club legend. Sir Alex Ferguson was one of the best at identifying when the time was right to part with a player and he learned early on to take the emotion out of the decision.
"I had to remember that I was manager of Manchester United, not their father and I had to go and tell them their time had come," he told the World Business Forum in 2016. "Some people might say it is ruthless, but it is about loyalty to the club. I am their manager, employed by them, and it is up to me to make sure Manchester United remains the best team."
Guardiola is less adept at moving on players he is fond of and he recently admitted that particular weakness had been detrimental to his City team this season. The coach revealed in January that he had turned down the opportunity to bolster his squad last summer out of loyalty to the core players who had won City a record-breaking fourth Premier League title, but he soon came to regret that call after his team was decimated with injuries.
"In the summer, the club thought about it and I said 'no, I don't want to make any signings," he said. "I relied a lot on these guys and thought I can do it again. But after the injuries – wow - maybe we should have done it."
Guardiola finally discovered his more ruthless side earlier this month when he told Kevin De Bruyne he did not want him to remain at the club beyond his contract expiring. And now he has a similar decision to make with another club legend who has passed his peak: Ilkay Gundogan.
