'Lewis is one of the best I ever trained by far'
- Published
Pep Guardiola has showered Manchester City defender Rico Lewis in praise.
The manager, who has coached the likes of Jordi Alba, Dani Alves and Kyle Walker, said: "Very good huh? What a player - 18 years-old. I have been manager for 14-15 years, training unbelievable players. To find a player like him playing in the pockets, how he has to move in the holding midfield, moving the spaces, he is one of the best I ever trained by far.
"He is a humble guy, doesn’t talk much and he has the appreciation for all his mates. He didn’t play much this season, last season was a key point to understand what we should do. He helped us a lot to understand what we have to do in our build-up and many things. He didn’t play much but he is going to play a lot.
"I remember one pre-season I did not even consider to bring him [to the squad] and Carlos Vicens told me we can bring Rico because he can play right-back, left-back. I didn’t know him.
"He played against Bayern Munich and I remember thinking 'oh, this guy is good'. Then he started training with us and I thought 'oh, this guy is good'.
"When you play inside you have counter-attacks from everywhere. It is the most difficult position to play. He is a big talent. To find that is not easy. He comes from the academy, always trains good, he deserves all the compliments and the praise."