Pep Guardiola says Barcelona would have won more Champions Leagues with Neymar

Ahead of Manchester City’s massive Champions League semi-final tie with Paris Saint Germain, manager Pep Guardiola spoke in the pre-match press conference stating the importance of the tie for the club’s history and also talked about Barcelona and Neymar during the interview.

Manchester City’s win over Borussia Dortmund saw them make the Champions League semifinals for the first time since Pep Guardiola took over the English giants, where they will now take on last year’s finalists PSG, who have been inching their way closer to European glory over the past few years.

In his interview, Guardiola was delighted with the prospect of leading Manchester City into battle against the Ligue 1 giants. He spoke highly of PSG and their leading man Neymar, his past glory in Brazil and his exploits during his time with FC Barcelona.

“I remember when I was showed clips of Santos, I remember I said this is the king of Santos and the players’ mouths were open saying ‘oh my god what a player’. He’s a joy to watch as a spectator, the personality, he has Brazil on his shoulders,” said Guardiola about the winger.

Pep then stated that if he had continued with Barcelona, then the Blaugrana would have seen far more success in Europe than they have in recent years:

“I’m sure if Neymar had a longer stay in Barcelona, they would win two or three more Champions League titles. Those three (Messi-Suarez-Neymar) were unstoppable, the best three I saw up-front in my life. He decided to go to Paris, not a bad decision, a nice city, and nice club…”

“As a manager in charge of Man City, we’re grateful to give ourselves this opportunity. When this club it’s normal to be there every year like Barcelona and Madrid who have many UCL titles. For us, it’s new and we’re grateful to live it,” added the former Barcelona manager, delighted with his side’s run to the semis this season.