Pep Guardiola hails Arsene Wenger for his ‘respect’ and ‘vision’ for the game
PEP GUARDIOLA thanked Arsene Wenger for his "vision" and "respect for football".
The Manchester City boss, who has faced Wenger 14 times in his managerial career, said it was always a pleasure to compete against the 68-year-old Frenchman.
Guardiola said: "All my respect for what he has done. The Premier League is about huge personalities like Arsene.
"It is because of what he has done - his vision, his respect for football.
"I wish him all the best in the future. I hope he can be involved in world football in a different way with his experience - Arsenal, Uefa, Fifa... I don't know.
"It was a pleasure to compete against him here and at Barcelona and Bayern Munich."
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Guardiola, 47, feels Wenger's 22-year tenure is something unlikely to be repeated in the modern game.
He explained: "It's difficult - Sir Alex Ferguson did it at Untied and what Arsene Wenger did now is so, so complicated.
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"Social media and the people with their opinions are so fresh.
"These managers feel a lot of pressure and, with the money involved, the sporting directors do not have the same patience.
"That is the same in Spain and Italy. It will be difficult to find a person who stays 22 years in the same club."
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Of those 14 games, Guardiola beat Wenger on eight occasions.
Wenger only managed to win three times.
But he remains the only manager to beat all of Guardiola's Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City sides.