Gabriel Jesus: 'Pep Guardiola key factor in decision to join Manchester City'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 19 December 2016

Gabriel Jesus explains why he chose Manchester City over a number of other interested clubs, claiming that playing under Pep Guardiola was simply too much to turn down.

Incoming Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus has revealed that he received many lucrative offers to join clubs earlier this year, but opted for the Citizens because of the opportunity to work with manager Pep Guardiola.

The 19-year-old will officially join up with his new City teammates in the next fortnight after agreeing to join the club from Palmeiras last summer in a deal worth around £27m.

Jesus, who scored 12 goals in 27 appearances this term to help the Brazilian outfit to their first top-flight crown in nearly two decades, was not interested in the financial reward when moving to Europe - instead being more excited by the prospect of playing his football under Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.

"There was [a lot of interest in my signature], but I don't want to name any club," he told FourFourTwo. "The decision to join City was taken by me, with my family and my agent – and it wasn't the best financial offer.

"We considered many things, but I really appreciate the whole City project and I'm so happy with the decision. City are a huge club in a country that loves football and has one of the best leagues. I can't deny that working with Guardiola helped with my decision.

"He's an excellent manager – one of the best in the world – and I can't describe how proud I am when he says good things about me. I'm proud that he likes my way of playing, but that's not enough for me. I need to show that he was right about me."

Jesus also played a key role in Brazil's maiden success at the Olympic Games on home soil in the summer by scoring three times in all.