Pep Guardiola: Matheus Nunes deserves incredible praise, I’m really pleased with him! | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has revealed how Matheus Nunes transformed himself into one of the most effective right-backs in the Premier League this season.

Nunes has been one of the stories of City’s season, reinventing himself as a specialist right-back after joining the club as a central midfielder from Wolves for £53 million in the summer of 2023.

After a turbulent 2024-25 campaign, the Portugal international has excelled in the role this term and produced another commanding display in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Brentford at the City in the Community Etihad Stadium.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Guardiola offered the most detailed explanation yet of how that transformation came about – and what makes Nunes such an unusual and valuable asset in the position.

Nunes surprised me how tactically smart he is, admits Pep

Guardiola was generous in his assessment of Nunes, making clear from the outset that the evolution has been player-led rather than manager-imposed.

On how he helped Nunes become one of the best full-backs in world football, the Manchester City manager said: “Him! He has the physical conditions. He’s a midfielder in terms of passes and after incredible pace.

“He surprised me a lot how tactically he’s so smart and intelligent. He deserves all the incredible praise. Like Jeremy (Doku), he’s made another step as a football player.

“I am really, really, really pleased because he can play there but one day, we’ll need him as a holding midfielder and he can do it, he can play in pockets. But I think he’s a player that in small spaces he struggles a little bit, and in bigger spaces he’s top.”

The specificity of Guardiola’s assessment is revealing. The combination of a midfielder’s passing range, elite pace and crucially, a tactical intelligence that even Guardiola did not fully anticipate has made Nunes ideally suited to the right-back role in City’s system, where the position demands as much cognitive as physical output.

What does Pep’s verdict mean for Nunes’ Man City future?

The hint that City “will need him as a holding midfielder” at some point is a significant one, suggesting Guardiola sees Nunes not as a converted full-back but as a genuinely versatile asset capable of operating across multiple positions at the highest level.

That versatility will only increase Nunes’ value to City in the summer window ahead, particularly given the uncertainty surrounding Rodri‘s long-term future at the club amid interest from Real Madrid

With City captain Bernardo Silva already confirmed as departing and director of football Hugo Viana actively pursuing midfield reinforcements, the knowledge that Nunes can fill multiple roles provides crucial squad flexibility.

For a player who arrived at the Etihad Stadium amid considerable scrutiny over his initial impact, Saturday’s performance and Guardiola’s words afterwards represent as emphatic a vindication as any footballer could wish for.