Leicester manager Claude Puel accuses Manchester City of a lack of respect over Riyad Mahrez pursuit
Pep Guardiola moved for the Foxes star 48 hours before January’s deadline but chiefs rejected a £65million deal
CLAUDE PUEL accused Manchester City of a lack of respect in their bid to sign Riyad Mahrez.
Pep Guardiola moved for the Leicester star 48 hours before January’s deadline — but Foxes chiefs rejected a £65million deal.
And boss Puel has now questioned the timing of the offer that saw Mahrez go AWOL from training and miss two Leicester games.
Puel said: “We need perhaps some others’ respect.
“To make solicitation just one or two days before the end of the transfer window, I don’t know if it’s normal. I can’t suffer this situation.
“Some teams can have a lot of possibility to replace players — they have a different situation to manage.
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“We don’t have a lot of players with the same quality as Riyad.
“For some other teams, it’s not a difficulty to replace their players.
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“For me, it’s important. We don’t have a squad like some great teams at the top of the table.”
Mahrez, 26, made a shock U-turn last Friday, returning to the Foxes 24 hours before their trip to City.
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Puel put him in the squad for the 5-1 rout — and even brought the Algerian on to face Guardiola and the side he wanted to join.
Puel said: “It was important if he had good fitness he came with us to stop all this situation.
“Riyad gave his feeling in the dressing room, to give some explanation to his team-mates and the staff.
“They welcomed him with a good feeling, now it’s important to move on.
“We succeeded in keeping good unity within the team.”