Guardiola 'so proud' as Rodri wins Ballon d'Or
- Published
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Carabao Cup game against Tottenham (kick-off 20:15 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
He said Rodri winning the Ballon d'Or is "incredible news for him, for all of us and for our fans who are so proud of him".
More from Guardiola on Rodri: "Hopefully it can give him energy to recover well and to be with us next season again. We are going to play this season without the best player in the world."
He said he hopes to progress to the next round of the Carabao Cup with a victory over Tottenham and to "perform well with no injuries, please".
Guardiola defended Erling Haaland for going to watch his friend play for Malmo instead of attending the awards ceremony in Paris and said it "is no problem at all".
Reflecting on Manchester United sacking Erik ten Hag on Monday and the pressure of being a football manager: "If you decide to be manager then you have to understand it. Our job is unfortunately about getting results. It is a business and managers know it. I have incredible support from our hierarchy but if the results were no good then I wouldn't be here."
Follow all of Tuesday's news conferences and the rest of the day's football news
