City now a bigger club than United, says Pellegrini
MANCHESTER: Manchester City, who face Barcelona in the Champions League tonight, are now a “bigger club” than archrivals Manchester United, coach Manuel Pellegrini said yesterday.
The 60-year-old Chilean coach, in his first season at the Etihad Stadium, delivered the line straight-faced in reply to a question at a news conference when he was asked if a City victory over Barcelona would change the perception that United were the biggest club in Manchester.
“If we consider only this season, there is just one club in Manchester and it is ours,” he said. “Basically the biggest club is now City, though we cannot forget the last few years.”
Pellegrini, not normally as prone to barbed one-liners as managers, including Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho, may be factually correct regarding the form of United and City this season.
However, United’s achievements, which include winning the European Cup three times and 20 English league titles, totally dwarf those of City who have been English champions three times and are in the knockout round of the Champions League for the first time.
But Pellegrini also accepted that Barcelona apose the biggest threat yet to City’s ambitions of establishing themselves amongst the elite.
“They are not just a oneman team called Lionel Messi,” he said. “They are a different team to the one that won the Champions League three years ago, sure, but they still have great players.” – Reuters