Credit: Twitter
Gabriel Jesus has opened up on his bitter exit from Manchester City and his strained relationship with Pep Guardiola, who he accused of making him cry and disrespecting him. The Brazilian striker, who joined Arsenal last summer, said he decided to leave the Etihad Stadium after a Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 when Guardiola played left-back Aleks Zinchenko as a false nine instead of him.
Jesus completed his move to Arsenal in August 2022 for £40 million, according to reports, signing a four-year contract with the Gunners. The 26-year-old has scored 18 goals in 32 games for his new club so far this season, helping them to challenge for the Premier League title.
Jesus told the 'Denilson Show' podcast that he was shocked and hurt by Guardiola's decision, which he felt was a sign of his lack of trust and appreciation. The forward said he cried in his room and called his mother to tell her he wanted to leave. The Brazilian also claimed that Guardiola did not explain his choice to him or apologise afterward.
Jesus stated in the interview "There was a Champions League game, PSG, at home, in which he put Zinchenko as a false 9. Crazy thing. The day before, he didn't even use Zinchenko in training, he had put me in as a striker... Zinchenko even joked with me: 'That day I felt bad for you.'
He added further, "Two hours before the game, there's a team talk, the team eats, rests for 30 minutes, and goes to the game. Pep told us the lineup... I didn't even eat. I went straight to the room, crying, I called my mother to talk and said 'I want to leave.' I'm going home, because he (Guardiola) put Zinchenko on, and didn't put me on. Guardiola put a left-back there. I went crazy.
"I didn't warm up. I felt bad. Five minutes after (Kylian) Mbappe scored the goal for 1-0, he (Guardiola) called me. I gave an assist and scored; we turned it around 2-1. In the next game, I thought I was going to play, and I didn't play."
Jesus said that was not the only time Guardiola treated him unfairly and that he had "a lot of that" with him. He said he felt undervalued and unhappy at City, despite scoring 111 goals and winning 10 trophies in five years.
Gabriel stated, "I always gave my best for the club, but I felt that he didn't trust me or respect me as much as other players. Pep never explained why he did what he did or said sorry for making me cry. He just ignored me and acted like nothing happened."
After his exit from Etihad, the Brazilian joined Arsenal in August 2022 and made his club debut for Arsenal on August 5 in a 2-0 Premier League victory away at Crystal Palace. The Olympic gold medallist scored his first and second competitive goals for the club against Leicester City on August 13 in his second game and first at the Emirates. His contributions included two assists in a 4-2 victory. He scored 11 goals and had six assists in his debut season for The Gunners.
