Chelsea and Palmeiras should not feel special over Pep Guardiola's best in the world claim

When FIFA president Gianni Infantino cobbles together his next outlandish plan for Club World Cup expansion, he would do well to enlist Pep Guardiola’s help with a bit of PR.

After Manchester CIty’s latest clinical and dominant Premier League win over Brentford in midweek, Guardiola was not having any of it when it was put to him that opposite number Thomas Frank had declared the Blues the best team in the world.

“No, because we are not the best team in the world. The best team is Chelsea, who are the champions of Europe; the best team is River Plate, who won in South America… no, maybe not River… I don’t know.”

We’ll allow Pep that slip. He meant Brazilian club Palmeiras, who are the reigning South American champions. They will face Chelsea in Saturday’s Club World Cup final.

The reason River slipped into Guardiola’s provocative playground logic is probably his deep admiration for the club and their coach Marcelo Gallardo.

“Every year three coaches are named as the best in the world, and he's never among them. I can't understand it,” Guardiola said in 2019 of Gallardo, who has masterminded the early career of incoming City forward Julian Alvarez.

This is the funny thing. Guardiola likes to say loads of people are the best in the world at one thing or another - entirely in keeping with being such an obviously rabid football enthusiast.

Here are a load of other people he has declared to be the best. So, maybe take it in your stride when that sort of praise comes City’s way, Pep. Oh, and Chelsea and Palmeiras shouldn’t get too carried away with their lofty labels, as there are plenty of such plaudits to go around.

Best coach in the world - Marcelo Bielsa

For all his welcome Pep plaudits, Gallardo has to get in line