Gabriel Jesus had no shortage of suiters last summer.
The Brazilian reportedly had interest from giants such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
However the 19-year-old has revealed he decided to put pen to paper for City after getting a call personally from Pep Guardiola – the only manager he says to contact him directly.
The Mirror reports Jesus said:
“When I took the decision to join City, Pep Guardiola’s call was very important. He called me, spoke to me about the project and explained that I was going to be an important part of it.
“So Pep was a huge influence. He was the only manager who called me. There were some other clubs interested in me, but Guardiola was the only one who called me.
“He showed his interest in having me here, that I was going to come here to help, that he was counting on me. I was very happy and that was when I decided to join Manchester City.”
The Sky Blues ended up paying Palmeiras £27m for the teenager but he is already making an impact for Guardiola’s side. He has looked an exciting player since making his debut against Spurs and scored his first goal for City in their 4-0 hammering of West Ham last weekend.
His form is also helping to keep Sergio Aguero on the bench.
Jesus added that it was his instant connection with the Catalan that helped seal his move to The Etihad. He said:
“Pep is crazy about football, like me. It’s 24 hours a day. When I’m not training or playing, I’m watching football or watching something football related on my phone, or about our next rival. We have that thing in common.
“For the short time I’ve been here, I’ve realised Pep is a really good guy. He deserves everything he has won in his career. I am very happy. The prestige of Manchester City’s shirt is also very important.
“I have always watched and followed the Premier League, so those factors made me take the decision to come here.”
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