Pep Guardiola was ready to leave Manchester City if this player was signed by the club

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According to The Athletic, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was ready to leave the club before the end of his current contract which expires in 2023 if the club had signed Cristiano Ronaldo.

Manchester City executives were tempted by the prospect of signing the then 36 year old Ronaldo from Juventus in the summer of 2021 but Guardiola was keen on the idea.

Guardiola and his assistant Juanma Lillo, had doubts about how Ronaldo would fit into the Manchester City team.

Guardiola and his technical team were only willing to sign Ronaldo if Raheem Sterling had left the club that summer amid interest from Barcelona.

Sterling did not leave, and Ronaldo ended up rejoining City’s Manchester rivals United, 12 years after he had left Old Trafford for Real Madrid.

The Athletic report also added that if Ronaldo had joined, Guardiola would not have stayed at City until the end of his current contract in 2023.