Mateo Kovacic now understands exactly how Manchester City have become so successful after signing from Chelsea this summer. City parted ways with captain Ilkay Gundogan this summer after the German midfielder opted not to sign a new contract and instead left to join Barcelona on a free.
In his place, Pep Guardiola brought in Kovacic. The Croat made 221 appearances for Chelsea after initially making a loan switch from Real Madrid in 2018.
During this time, the 29-year-old has admired City's style of play from afar but it was only when he started training with his new club, he realised how they have managed to be on top of English football for such a prolonged period of time.
In Saturday's press conference, he told reporters: "I knew the team had a lot of quality and playing against them was never easy – it was always tough.