“I blame myself” – Pep Guardiola admits Chelsea mistake after 1-1 draw
Pep Guardiola has admitted that he’s the one to blame for letting Cole Palmer join Chelsea last summer because he didn’t give the 21-year-old enough opportunities to show his talent.
Palmer was a transfer deadline day signing for Chelsea last summer, arriving Stamford Bridge for £45m last September.
The impressive attacker has since become a key player for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, having scored 12 times across all competitions since the move.
Palmer has also racked up nine assists for Chelsea, placing him ahead of any other player at Stamford Bridge, and Guardiola, while speaking ahead of his side’s 1-1 draw with the Blues, admitted he made a mistake in letting the England international leave, even though he wishes him well.
The City manager said: “For young players, we always want them to stay but this is normal. After two or three seasons he wanted more minutes than he had the last season. I understand completely.
“If Palmer had the minutes I gave to Phil (Foden) from the beginning, Cole Palmer would be here – but I didn’t give them to him. That is my responsibility.
“Why? Because of Bernardo (Silva), Riyad (Mahrez), Phil. In that moment, I chose the other ones.
“After one season it is nice, and the second season, but the third season it is, ‘Oh guys, I want to play, I don’t want to sit on the bench’.
“It’s normal. We understand as a club. We got an offer from an incredible top club like Chelsea and I’m really happy for him. In all clubs these types of things happen.”
Guardiola also said: “We knew the quality he has and the impact he has shown this season is enormous.
“It is not just goals and assists, it is the quality. He is an incredible threat for Chelsea.”
Pep Guardiola watched on as Cole Palmer was a menace against City on Saturday evening, and was involved in the build-up to Raheem Sterling’s first-half opener at the Etihad stadium. The attacker also scored Chelsea’s late equaliser from the penalty spot when both sides met in the reverse fixture last year.
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