Pep Guardiola shows true Man City colours with classy Salford gesture after FA Cup rout

Pep Guardiola showed his class with a kind gesture after his side demolished Salford City in a FA Cup third round tie at Etihad Stadium. James McAtee bagged a hat-trick in the 8-0 triumph with Jeremy Doku netting a brace and Jack Grealish scoring his first goal in 13 months.

It was a third successive victory for the reigning Premier League champions against one of their neighbours. The League Two side offered some threat going forward with Ederson forced into two saves but they were simply no match for City.

Perhaps in order for it to not be a day to forget, Guardiola revealed that the Salford squad was invited into the City dressing room with players from both clubs exchanging shirts and having conversations once the game had concluded.

Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: "It happened in the past when we played the FA Cup against a lower division side, to change the shirts and see the players. It's normal". Guardiola named a relatively youthful side but club captain Kyle Walker was noticeably absent and there was a key reason behind that decision.

"It's not easy for me to say because I should tell him but he's not here," he said in a press conference. "Two days ago Kyle asked to explore the options to play abroad. He asked two years ago after the Treble, Bayern Munich wanted him but the offer was not good enough.

"We cannot understand the club had without years without Kyle. It's impossible to imagine what we have done in these years without him. For that reason, I prefer to play other players whose mind is here.

"Maybe I'm wrong but I still am pretty convinced that there's no-one in our job that doesn't want to be where they are who can perform and be exactly what they want to be. He asked to explore, it doesn't mean it's