Guardiola blasts ‘false’ report

HONG KONG: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola blasted a report in Chinese state media as “false” on Tuesday after the Premier League champions were accused of showing “utter disrespect” during their tour of China.

Guardiola hit out at the lengthy commentary posted on the English-language website of Xinhua, the state news agency, which said Manchester City snubbed fans and only visited China for commercial reasons.

“I don’t agree but I should say too that it’s false. To make a statement like this they have to know exactly what’s happening in our club,” Guardiola told media in Hong Kong.

“I don’t understand how people can say that. Maybe one journalist is a little bit upset, I don’t know why. But it’s far away from what is reality,” he added.

The opinion piece, which accused City of an “attitude of arrogance” and lashed out at arrangements for Chinese media, brought a sour end to a difficult tour of mainland China.