Pep Guardiola 'lucky to have Messi' as Yaya Toure's agent says 'my grandfather could've won league with Bayern'

Guardiola has exiled Yaya Toure from his squad until he apologises for Dimitri Seluk's constant verbal attacks

Pep Guardiola has been criticised repeatedly by Yaya Toure's agent Dimitri Seluk (Getty)

Yaya Toure’s agent Dimitri Seluk has continued his war of words with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola by claiming his own grandfather could have won the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich, and adding that his great Barcelona side was led by Lionel Messi, not the Spanish coach.

Guardiola revealed on Tuesday that Toure will not play again for City unless he apologises for Seluk’s comments earlier in the month, which came after the Ivorian was left out of the 25-man Champions League squad that will compete in Europe this season. Guardiola admitted it was an extremely hard decision to omit the midfielder, though Seluk claimed the player had been “humiliated” by Guardiola.

Seluk made it clear this week that he has no desire to apologise to Guardiola nor end the feud between them, which stems back from when Toure was sold to City while Guardiola was in charge of Barcelona.

“The team he took at Barca had been built by Frank Rijkaard and then he was lucky to have Lionel Messi,” Seluk told The Mirror.

“It was Messi who made Barca, not Pep. Luis Enrique has shown that Barca's success was not down to Guardiola.”

Guardiola made his name as Barcelona manager where he secured three La Liga titles and two Champions League crowns during his four years in charge, but his failure to secure European glory in Germany blighted his time with Bayern even though they won the Bundesliga title in all three seasons during his stay in Bavaria.

His job was made all the more difficult given that his predecessor at Bayern, Jupp Heynckes, won the treble before he was replaced by Guardiola, and the Spaniard was unable to replicate his feat as his Bayern side were knocked out in the semi-finals three seasons on the bounce.

His perceived failure – if you can call it that – has given Seluk ammunition to criticise his time in Germany, and the agent suggested that anyone could win the domestic title with the likes of Phillip Lahm, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer and Robert Lewandsowski.

“It was the same in Munich” Seluk added. “He couldn't fail. My grandfather could have won the league with that team.

“If Pep wants to prove himself as a great manager, then he should go to Zaragoza or Sunderland. Let's see how good he is when he doesn't take over a great team and hasn't got half-a-billion pounds to spend.”

With Guardiola going public in his criticism of both Toure and Seluk, it appears that the Ivorian’s trophy-laden career at City is over. He announced his retirement from international football on Tuesday, just hours before Guardiola launched his response to the pair in his press conference ahead of tonight’s EFL Cup clash with Swansea.

"It was so difficult for me to leave him out of the Champions League. So difficult,” Guardiola said on Tuesday. “I know him and I know he's a good guy.

"But the day after his agent spoke, and in that moment Yaya is out unless Mr Dimitri Seluk comes back to the press or to his friends in the media - because he hasn't the courage to call me, he goes to the media - and apologise to Manchester City first of all, then his teammates, and afterwards the trainer.


 Guardiola has insisted Toure will not play again for City until he apologises (Getty)
 (Getty Images)

"When that happens Yaya will be part of the group and he will have the chance to play. As a coach, I cannot accept that when his player doesn't play he goes to the media and speaks.

"It depends. I know how much Dimitri Seluk loves Yay Toure. If he loves him, show me by apologising to Manchester City for what he did in the papers."

But Seluk claims that Guardiola is scared of having players among his squad who could question his philosophy or speak against the manager when things aren’t going so well. City have won every competitive match since Guardiola arrived at the Etihad Stadium and currently lead the Premier League table, even though Guardiola has exiled Toure and sent England goalkeeper Joe Hart out on loan after dropping him down the pecking order.

Yaya Toure's agent Dimitri Seluk has criticised Pep Guardiola again (Facebook/Dimitri Seluk)

Seluk used the departure of Hart – and his own client’s struggles – to criticise how Guardiola deals with players who show character in the dressing room.

“Pep doesn't want players with personality. He only wants players who are scared of him and will do what he says,” he continued.

“The first thing he did when he arrived at City was to pick a fight with Yaya and Joe Hart, two of the club's biggest players. They have both been big personalities in the dressing room at City and Guardiola doesn't like that.”

Seluk added: “Guardiola wins a few games and thinks he is king.”