BE MY PRIZE GUY
Pep: Kevin needs medals to get up with the best
KEVIN DE BRUYNE has been told he needs to start winning major trophies to get anywhere near Lionel Messi’s level.
Pep Guardiola believes the in-form Manchester City star has a long way to go before he can be considered as the world’s best player. And even if he does get to the pinnacle of the game, Guardiola thinks it will take a mammoth effort from the Belgian, 26, to be even considered alongside the Barcelona legend. Messi has won just about every prize going at club level with four Champions League medals and eight La Liga titles on his glittering CV. Guardiola, who managed Messi for four years at Barca before leaving in 2012, believes that the Argentinian is still the best in the game – but would love to help De Bruyne match him. Ahead of tonight’s Champions League clash at home to Napoli, he City boss said: “The best is just one. “If you want to be considered one of the best, you have to win titles and we are here to help him achieve that. “The best is just one but De Bruyne is one of the best. It would be a dream for me to get him to that level.
“I would love not only Kevin but all the players I have in the past to get to the level of Messi. I would like that.
“It would be a massive thing for my teams because we would win a lot of games.
“But I don’t want to put pressure on Kevin’s shoulders. He is an outstanding, amazing player and a humble guy. I don’t help him by comparing him with Messi.
“Messi is apart. He scores 60 goals every season for eight or nine years. And it’s not just that, it’s the way he plays.
“Of course I would like to help Kevin to get to the highest level possible.
“But in the past, I have heard many times, ‘That guy is like Messi, that guy is like Messi, that guy is like Messi’. It is not possible.”
De Bruyne is in the form of his life and was man of the match without scoring in Saturday’s 7-2 hammering of Stoke.
Bench
He helped City move two points clear at the top of the Premier League but they now face in-form Napoli, who boast a 100 per cent record in Serie A.
Striker Sergio Aguero is expected to be on the bench again even though he has recovered from the broken rib suffered in a taxi crash on September 28.
Aguero, who needs one goal to equal the club’s all-time scoring record of 177, is ready for the call when needed.
Guardiola said: “Day by day he is much better. On Sunday, he had an amazing training session. The day before the game against Stoke, he was good but not perfect at that moment. On Sunday, he was really good.”
Guardiola has repeatedly described Napoli as one of the three best footballing sides in Europe.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has dismissed that as mind games designed to distract his players.
But Guardiola insisted his thoughts are genuine. He added: “I heard from the president that my words are just to distract Napoli, but it is just what I believe.
“I believe they are a really good team in all senses. But if the president prefers to hear they are a disaster team and that they are no good, then OK, I can say that as well.”