Guardiola: 'Many players want to play in Saudi Arabia'

Guardiola said he did not want midfielder Riyad Mahrez to move to Al Ahli, but Man City did not want to keep any player who wanted to leave. "Mahrez received an unbelievable offer from Saudi Arabia, so we couldn't stop him," Guardiola said on July 28. "Of course we want Mahrez to stay, but he is not happy not to be able to play in the FA Cup and Champions League finals. But between Man City and Mahrez there has always been mutual respect, despite the ups and downs."

Mahrez has left Man City to join Al Ahli for a transfer fee of $ 39 million, and he will receive a salary of about $ 32 million per year, according to Goal. Mahrez's salary in Saudi Arabia is several times higher than his income at Man City. The 32-year-old midfielder is also no longer competing for the official position with Bernardo Silva, so he signed a four-year contract with the Saudi League club.

Guardiola said City will try to find a replacement for Mahrez, but he knows it will not be easy. "It is impossible to find a player with the same quality as Mahrez, when he always keeps his composure in every situation," he said.

When asked about the rise of the Saudi League, Guardiola said this is not a threat to European football, but a reality. "They want to create a strong league and are doing it," said the Spaniard. "I don't know how long they can maintain this, but there are many players who want to go there to play. At the beginning of the year, only Cristiano Ronaldo went to Saudi Arabia, but now the tournament has many stars."

The owners of the top Saudi League teams are actively recruiting European stars, with large transfer fees and salaries many times higher. In addition to Ronaldo and Mahrez, the Saudi League also has Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Fabinho (Al Ittihad), Roberto Firmino, Allan Saint-Maximin and Edouard Mendy (Al Ahli), Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Al-Alahi). Hilal), Marcelo Brozovic, Alex Telles, Sadio Mane (Al Nassr) or Jordan Henderson and coach Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq.