Pep Guardiola insists the ball is in Tottenham's court with regards to Manchester City's potential move for Harry Kane.
City's interest in Kane is clear, with the Premier League champions determined to sign the England captain – they had an offer understood to be in the region of £100million turned down during the European Championships.
Kane, too, is eager to make the switch from north London to Manchester, with Spurs' talisman having failed to report to pre-season training earlier this week in an apparent attempt to force through a move.
Reports suggest Tottenham will refuse to do business, however, insisting their talisman is not to sale to a Premier League competitor.
City have already smashed the British transfer record to sign Jack Grealish, whose £100m move from Aston Villa was confirmed on Thursday, but Guardiola says Tottenham will ultimately make the decision on Kane's future.
"He's a player for Tottenham Hotspur. If Tottenham don't want to negotiate, it's finished," Guardiola, who also dismissed any possibility of a move for free agent Lionel Messi, told a news conference ahead of the Community Shield clash with FA Cup holders Leicester City.
"If they are open to negotiating, I think not just Man City but many clubs in the world want to try to sign him – we are not an exception – but it depends on Tottenham.
"It's different from Jack. Jack had a release clause. Harry Kane is an exceptional, extraordinary striker, no doubts about that. Of course we are interested, but he is a Tottenham player and if they don't want to negotiate there is nothing more to say. If they want to, we will try."
Ironically, City's first Premier League outing sees them travel to Tottenham on August 15.
It is not just incomings that City have to consider as the new season gets underway, though, with the champions also needing to manage some players who wish to try their hand elsewhere.
Several players have been linked with moves away, and Guardiola confirmed as such, though named only Bernardo Silva as a player who definitely wants to leave.
"Not just Bernardo, there are two, three or four players that want to leave but they are our players under contract and when they bring some offer and their agents come here and they want to leave we are open to discuss absolutely everything, but it depends on them," he added.
"Otherwise, they will continue training really well, they will stay here and I will decide if they play or don't play.
"The players, for what happened in the previous seasons, who want to leave know the door is open because we don't want anyone here unsatisfied. But they have to bring [an offer from a club]. Otherwise, they will stay here."
LaLiga champions Atletico Madrid have been touted as a possible destination for Portugal playmaker Silva, who joined City from Monaco in 2017.
Taylor proud of 'gritty' Man City display in Hammarby victory
Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his Manchester City players handled the atmosphere against Hammarby to secure their passage into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Khadija Shaw opened the scoring in the 31st minute before Ellen Wangerheim restored parity shortly after the interval with a finish from close range.
But Shaw continued her fine start to the campaign, scoring the winner to become City's all-time top scorer in the competition, surpassing Georgia Stanway and Janine Beckie (both six).
The result saw City make it to the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2021, though the encounter was far from comfortable at the Tele2 Arena on Thursday.
Hammarby ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.15 compared to the visitors' 1.07, despite both sides having 14 shots throughout the match.
However, City maintained their unbeaten record against Swedish sides in the competitor (W6), and Taylor was proud of his side's "gritty" display in Stockholm.
“I’m really pleased. It was about qualification for us tonight," Taylor said.
"There were a couple of ways we could do it. Obviously, we knew a point was enough, but I don’t think the players were thinking that way.
“It was a really gritty performance on a really difficult on this pitch. It probably doesn’t look like that for the viewers at home watching it.
"But it was a really lively surface and we worked so hard.
“I felt there were some areas we could control the play better. I have to give credit to Hammarby, they were really aggressive.
"The referee was on our side a little bit in the first half and maybe not in the second.
“I’m really pleased and proud of the players, they really dug in tonight. You come away from a hostile environment with a win.”
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Rodri: Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt
Manchester City and Spain star Rodri has suggested that Lionel Messi pipped Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest footballer of all time.
The 28-year-old was recently awarded the 2024 Ballon d'Or as recognition for a period in which he won the Champions League in 2023 and Euro 2024 with Spain the next year.
Ex-Barcelona man Messi has won three of the last four Ballon d'Ors prior to Rodri, with the midfielder claiming that the latter is the greatest "without any doubt" during an interview on Spanish TV.
"Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt. Cristiano has managed to match Messi without innate talent. But those of us who have played against them can see the difference," said Rodri, speaking to El Hormiguero.
"We didn’t want Cristiano to step into the box because he was lethal there. But with Messi, the danger was everywhere on the pitch."
Ronaldo has scored a total of 928 goals in his career for club and country, winning 34 major trophies including five Champions League titles. He has also won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions.
Messi, meanwhile, has scored 877 goals, won the Champions League on four occasions and the Ballon d'Or five times, most recently in 2023.
Messi is now at Inter Miami, while Rodri is recovering from an ACL injury at Manchester City, although the two faced each other in LaLiga during the midfielder's spells at Villarreal and Atletico Madrid before his Premier League move.
"When Messi got the ball, you’d think: 'Oh, danger'," he added. "When I first started playing against him, I tried to take the ball from him, and he dodged you as if you were a bull in the ring. The feeling I had was that something bad was about to happen."
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