'Erling Haaland & Kevin De Bruyne will still be here!' - Pep Guardiola not worried Omar Berrada move from Man City to United will cause power shift

The coach wished Berrada luck after the Frenchman agreed to cross the divide from City to United but he believes the move will not lead to a shift in the balance of power in Manchester as his side will still have key players such as Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne, who can make the difference on the pitch.

"His knowledge goes to United, that's the reality. We learned a lot from Omar but he’s learned a lot from the club and now he’s gone to United," Guardiola told a press conference. "But Kevin De Bruyne is still in Man City, Erling Haaland will play here so in the end it’s not as simple as that. Otherwise with the power of united they would have done it before. Maybe United thinks with this person everything is going to change – congratulations. I don’t know if this is going to happen."

Many senior figures and players were shocked by Berrada switching sides but Guardiola said he had no hard feelings about the switch. He added: "We will be well prepared, we will adapt and adjust and move forward. He is a lovely person, incredible character, incredible professional. Yesterday I saw him, we hugged and I wished him all the best, deeply I wish him the best because he’s a fantastic person. But I don’t know if doing this everything is going to be sorted and it works [for United]. If it does happen then oh my god they have to make a stand for Omar Berrada in the future because he’d deserve it."

Berrada was the first major figure to leave Barcelona and work for City, switching from Catalonia to Manchester in 2011. CEO Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain followed in 2012 while Guardiola took over as coach in 2016.

City have not announced who will replace Berrada, who had acted as the club's chief football officer since 2020, playing a key role in the transfers of Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish and latest arrival Claudio Echeverri. Guardiola's side are back in action on Friday against Tottenham in the fourth round of the FA Cup.