Pep Guardiola names one Newcastle player he has ‘always been a big fan of’ in his career | OneFootball

Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes has once again been at the centre of immense praise from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

Manchester City’s midfield is currently in a period of gradual transition, with club officials having assessed long-term options during the recent transfer market off the back of uncertainty over futures for several players.

With Kevin De Bruyne having vacated his legendary time at the Etihad Stadium and İlkay Gündoğan moving on himself to Galatasaray, City’s creative roles quickly became an area of growing strategic interest for the recruitment team.

Bruno Guimaraes has continued to elevate his reputation as one of the Premier League’s most complete midfielders, and his importance to Newcastle United is reflected not only in consistent top-level performances but also in his leadership presence.

That has naturally ensured that transfer speculation has never fully disappeared, with all of Manchester City, Liverpool, PSG, and several other European giants having monitored the 28-year-old closely in recent seasons. Newcastle, though, have always remained firm in their stance that he is central to long-term plans.

Speaking ahead of Manchester City’s clash against Newcastle on Saturday evening, Pep Guardiola was quizzed for his thoughts on the remarkable season Guimaraes is having for both his Premier League side and the Brazilian national team.

“It’s not just this season, so it’s for many years. Since he was in Lyon, we started to smell, realise that he was a special player,” Guardiola told reporters.

He continued, “I think Newcastle made an incredible [decision], he’s an idol there. I think these players, when they play a lot, season by season, going to the national team, they’re getting better and getting better. And always I’ve been a big fan of him.”

Pep Guardiola’s remarks will inevitably reignite discussions about whether City could one day move for the Newcastle icon, with the club expected to assess their midfield structure again in 2026 despite the signings of Tijjani Reijnders, Nico Gonzalez, and Rayan Cherki this year.

Should they decide to seek a high-end reinforcement, Bruno Guimaraes fits the profile of a technically dominant midfielder with Premier League experience and international pedigree – the exact type Pep Guardiola tends to admire.