A FORMER Manchester City star has claimed Pep Guardiola “brainwashed” him into becoming a better footballer.
Guardiola revolutionised the beautiful game with his tiki-taka style of football during his historic stint at Barcelona.
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He would somewhat implement his ethos when he took charge of City in the summer of 2016, although he’d have to adapt it for the physicality of the Premier League.
Adapt it he would, so much so that City would win SIX of the last seven Premier League titles and the last four in a row.
And former Sky Blues defender Danilo, who spent two seasons at the Etihad, is among the players whose games were transformed by the Catalan.
The Flamengo star and Brazil skipper said of his former gaffer during an interview with The Guardian: “Pep Guardiola educates his players.
“That’s the most important thing about his work. He makes all players think about football in the same way.
“Time, space, movement, possession, taking care of the ball.”
“He makes you understand the spaces on the pitch like no other coach and he lives the game emotionally like no other coach.
“I was brainwashed by Guardiola, but in a good way.”
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Danilo, 33, believes he would’ve been a far better player had he played under Guardiola earlier in his career.
He said: “It was like I was at university. What I experienced with him allowed me to raise my level and keep that level to this day.
“It’s not that I was an idiot before I arrived at Manchester City but I realised that I played football in completely the wrong way.
“If I had met him before, he would have made my life a lot easier. I’m so glad I was able to play under him and was able to learn from him.”
The 2024/25 season has been City’s worst since Guardiola replaced Manuel Pellegrini at the Etihad helm.
City are currently fifth in the table and a whopping 22 POINTS behind runaway table-toppers Liverpool.
Danilo isn’t surprised by his former side’s slump, saying: “We have to remember that football is cyclical.
“There are a lot of players who are now 33, 34 years old and have been at the top of their game for eight, nine, 10 years.
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“This drop in performance is natural. You have to look at the mental aspect as well.
“When I talk about age, it’s not even physical. It’s the experience of being under so much pressure for so many years, the pressure of winning and winning all the time.
“When you lose, the feeling is that everything has gone wrong and you feel less valuable, incapable. It’s difficult to balance these feelings.
“That’s why when you win, you only feel relief.
“However, with age comes a better understanding and it is easier to reflect on some of the defeats and victories.”
City will be back in action on Sunday, travelling to the Vitality Stadium to take on Bournemouth in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
