Guardiola has no regrets over Sancho's Manchester City departure

Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has insisted he has no regrets about Jadon Sancho leaving the club in 2017 to join Borussia Dortmund. 

Sancho moved to Manchester City in March 2015 at the age of 14 and was quickly tipped as a star of the future. 

But due to concerns over a path to first-team minutes at City, Sancho was sold for for £8 million (€9m/$11m) and has gone on to become one of the top players in the Bundesliga. 

What was said?

"I've said many times, it is not a regret. He decides. He's doing really well," Guardiola said after his side drew Dortmund in the Champions League quarter-final on Friday.

"Congratulations, he's an exceptional player. He is a national team player with huge quality, doing really well in Dortmund.

"We wanted him to stay but he decided to leave, and when people decide to leave all we can do is [let them] leave.

"I wish him all the best, except when he plays against us. No regrets at all. If he's happy, I'm happy."

When asked what might have been if Sancho stayed, Guardiola said: "Nobody knows. Maybe he stays and we don't play good or better. The life of every person decides what life they lead."

The bigger picture

Sancho, who turns 21 next week, has already posted three consecutive seasons reaching double figures in both goals and assists for Dortmund. 

Those performances have made him a full England international and seen him consistently linked with a big-money move back to the Premier League. 

City's crosstown rivals Manchester United pushed hard to sign Sancho last summer but saw their repeated attempts rejected by Dortmund.

Dortmund refused to let Sancho leave for less than €120m (£109m/$141m), which the Manchester outfit were not prepared to pay upfront.

Sancho will miss England's upcoming matches against San Marino, Albania and Portugal with a calf injury, but is expected to be fit for the games against City on April 6 and 14.

Further reading

• Dortmund not expecting big summer transfers amid Sancho & Haaland rumours

• Guardiola responds to talk of Man City move for Haaland 

• Haaland, Guardiola and the winners and losers of the UCL quarter-final draw