Furious Man City rant from Etihad outcast weakens Blues transfer window plan

Asked about Trent Alexander-Arnold's incendiary comments ahead of their trip to Liverpool, Manchester City Pep Guardiola knocked back all attempts to get a rise out of him: "I could reply but why should I bother?" was the upshot of his response.

The City boss worked out - correctly - that anything he may have wanted to say would just have been splashed back into the news cycle and while he may have felt good by saying it and pleased some fans with it, it didn't need to be said. Guardiola sometimes cannot help himself from commenting, but almost all of the time he is smart enough to only make headlines when it makes sense to.

That was certainly the case at the beginning of last year when Joao Cancelo secured a shock loan move to Bayern Munich at the end of the January window. Guardiola has many a tale to tell about why that particular relationship blew up so quickly and viciously, yet chose to stay silent.

ALSO READ: Picking the best Man City XI since the takeover - with a catch

ALSO READ: 'I don’t take it into account' - Norway's Haaland plan risks irritating City

Again, the brief boost it would have given the coach to share what had gone on was heavily negated by the fact that Cancelo was still City's player and their negotiating position would be weakened by stories of the full-back that could put off other clubs. There has been remarkably little that the club have said on Cancelo, insisting that the exit was principally down to a switch in formation and playing down any reports of a fallout.

All of which feels futile after Cancelo's latest interview where he accuses the club and Guardiola of badmouthing him. Speaking to Portuguese media, the Barcelona loanee accused the club of telling lies and being 'ungrateful'