12 June 2023 , 10:46
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Jamie Carragher has insisted that Pep Guardiola has moved ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson in the debate around who is football's greatest ever manager.
Guardiola led Manchester City to winning the Champions League on Saturday, securing the Treble in the process. In doing so, City became the first team since Manchester United's 1999 squad to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season.
The achievement has reignited the debate around Guardiola and Ferguson, with the latter having been the mastermind of United's dominance of English football for 20 years. Guardiola, meanwhile, changed football forever with his tiki-taka style at Barcelona.
Guardiola has overseen a period of dominance since joining City in 2016, winning their third successive Premier League title this term. Their long wait for a European Cup has now ended, with Guardiola matching a feat only Ferguson had previously secured.
City's defeat of Inter Milan in Istanbul has convinced Carragher that Guardiola now stands alone when discussing football's greatest boss. The Liverpool legend insisted that the current crop of City players are on a different level to United's 1999 heroes.
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"For as long as Guardiola is at the Etihad, they will be the side everyone else fears - the best resourced team with the best manager. By adding the European Cup to his City CV, Guardiola has also added weight to the argument he is the greatest coach of all time," he told the Daily Telegraph.
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Pep Guardiola became the first man since Sir Alex Ferguson to lead an English club to the treble (Getty Images)"Sir Alex Ferguson’s supporters will always suggest otherwise. The reality is it is not even a debate beyond this country. At two different clubs, Guardiola has created a side which has produced the most perfect football I have ever seen live, first with his Barcelona Champions League winners of 2011 and now City in 2023.
"The argument about whether City’s treble winners are better than Ferguson’s of 1999 should be over, too. This City team is on a different level. City left Istanbul amid a sense of beginning in Europe rather than mere completion of their Abu Dhabi owners’ ultimate ambition.
"After the treble of 1999, Ferguson would wait another nine years to lift the European Cup, his side successful in the Champions League without dominating it. City can leave every rival in their wake. A dynasty is forming at City under Guardiola."
Guardiola himself has refused to get involved in the debate between him and Ferguson. Instead, he has insisted he is honoured to have matched the United legend's achievement and revealed a touching message he had received from the Scot.
"I was so happy to get a message from Sir Alex Ferguson on my phone this morning. It touched me. I am so happy to be sat alongside Sir Alex. Winning the Treble is so difficult, but it was written in the stars that we would win this season," he said.
"This trophy is so difficult to win. This competition is a (toss of a) coin. But now it belongs to us. We're going to celebrate in the hotel with family and friends and on Monday the parade is in Manchester."