Gabriel Jesus was frustrated by a lack of opportunities at Manchester City, with a particular snub from Guardiola bringing the Brazilian to tears and fueling his desire to quit.
The Brazilian left the Etihad Stadium to join Arsenal, who finished second last season behind his former club. Jesus played for Manchester City for six years but was often featured in the starting line-up. Jesus' emotions reached their peak during a European night against heavyweight team Paris Saint-Germain when he was overlooked. If it were other attackers, he might have been able to tolerate it, but Guardiola made the unconventional decision to put Zinchenko, who is usually a defender, in an attacking role, although there was no sign of a tactical adjustment.
The Brazilian told the Denilson Show podcast: "Paris Saint-Germain played a Champions League match at home and he placed Zinchenko as a pseudo-No.9. This is crazy. The day before, Guardiola did not even use him in training, but placed Zinchenko in training. ”
"Two hours before the game, there was a team talk, then the team ate, took a 30-minute break, then went to the game, I didn't even eat, I went straight into the room, I cried, I called my mum to talk: 'I want to leave'. I'm going home because he put Zinchenko on the field. He placed a left-back there. I'm crazy. ”
In the end, Jesus came off the bench to score the winning goal for Manchester City, who were trailing 1-0 in Impappe's goal. The current Arsenal player admits he didn't even warm up before Pep Guardiola let him off. Despite being snubbed in the Champions League after being snubbed on the bench, Jesus thought he would start, but that only increased his desire to leave the Etihad Stadium and seek a new challenge.
He added: "I didn't warm up. I feel bad. Five minutes after Kylian Mbappe's 1-0 goal, Pep Guardiola let me off. I assisted and scored and we made it 2-1. With a 2-1 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League, I thought I would play, but I didn't. That's when I decided I didn't want to stay any longer. I decided to leave. ”