‘Pep killed me and my self-confidence’: RB Leipzig star Angelino takes a huge swipe at Guardiola as he claims Man City boss ‘judged me after just two games’ and compares him unfavourably to Julian Nagelsmann
- Angelino made permanent his loan from Manchester City to Leipzig this month
- The Spanish left-back flourished in the Bundesliga over the past 12 months
- He has hit out at his ex-boss at City, Pep Guardiola, for ruining his confidence
- Angelino said Guardiola decided he wasn’t good enough after just two games
Angelino has taken a swipe at Pep Guardiola, saying the Manchester City manager ‘killed me and my self-confidence’ and decided he wasn’t suitable for his team after just two games.
The Spanish left-back has flourished with Bundesliga side RB Leipzig after leaving City and made his initial loan permanent this month.
And the 24-year-old, who came through City’s youth ranks but made only a handful of first-team appearances, didn’t hold back in his criticism of Guardiola.
RB Leipzig left-back Angelino has taken a swipe at Pep Guardiola, his former boss at Man City
Guardiola only played Angelino in a handful of games at City before loaning him out
‘Pep killed me and my self-confidence,’ Angelino said in quotes reported by Bild.
‘After my move from PSV Eindhoven back to City, he had already judged me after two preparatory games and then didn’t give me a real chance again.
‘So I was happy that I was offered to Leipzig and that I am now an integral part of the club.’
Comparing his former City boss to current manager Julian Nagelsmann, he added: ‘One of them gave me confidence and let me play. The other one just didn’t.
‘In Leipzig I felt trust from day one. The club and the coach gave me an incredible push. I am happy now to be able to play consistently in Leipzig.’
The Spanish left-back has been excellent this season with eight goals and 11 assists for Leipzig
Angelino said Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann gives him confidence, in contrast to Guardiola
Angelino was 16 when he arrived in City’s academy from Deportivo La Coruna and Guardiola’s predecessor Manuel Pellegrini handed him a first team debut away at Aston Villa in January 2016.
Guardiola played him only twice in the 2016-17 season, he first in charge at the Etihad Stadium, before loan spells at Girona, Real Mallorca and MAC Breda followed.
In June 2018, PSV signed Angelino to a five-year contract and he played regularly in the Eredivisie and was voted into the division’s team of the season.
But City exercised a buy-back clause in his contract and Angelino returned to Manchester in July 2019.
The Spaniard played just a handful of matches for City under Guardiola amid loan spells
He has performed much better under Nagelsmann at Leipzig, on loan and now full-time there
Despite a dozen appearances during the first half of the 2019-20 campaign, Guardiola wasn’t impressed and he was loaned to Leipzig in January last year.
The loan was extended for this season back in September and Angelino continued to impress, scoring against Manchester United in the Champions League group stage to help knock them out.
The loan was made permanent on a four-year contract earlier this month. He has scored eight goals and contributed 11 assists this season.
Leipzig trail Liverpool 2-0 after the first leg of their Champions League last-16 campaign but they are just two points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
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