PEP GUARDIOLA admits Cole Palmer has been the “decisive player of the season” after being forced to sell him to Chelsea.
But the Manchester City boss insists the England midfielder, 21, asked to leave the Etihad for TWO YEARS before he finally got his £40million move to Stamford Bridge last summer.
Palmer bids to boot his old club out of the FA Cup in Saturday's Wembley semi-final after scoring 20 Prem goals already this season — including FOUR in Monday’s 6-0 thrashing of Everton.
And Guardiola confessed: “He said he wanted to leave. What could we do? He was asking for two seasons to leave and I said, ‘No, stay’.
“I also said in pre-season he should stay because Riyad Mahrez had gone, but he said, ‘No, I want to leave’.
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“So after two seasons what could I say?
“Playing at his current level is exceptional. He is an incredible threat. Everyone knows it.
“We’ve seen how strong Chelsea are, the weapons they have up front, and Cole is the decisive player of the season.”
Palmer is level with City striker Erling Haaland in the race for this season’s Golden Boot and is even being tipped as a potential Footballer of the Year.
And Guardiola conceded: “I didn’t give him the minutes that he deserved. He wanted minutes that now he has at Chelsea. I understand completely.
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“I am happy for him because he’s a lovely guy and an exceptional player.”
Chelsea chief Mauricio Pochettino sympathised with Guardiola’s dilemma.
The Argentine said: “I understand perfectly when a young player wants to play more and you don’t have the possibility to provide this time.
“If you have players like Phil Foden, Jack Grealish or Bernardo Silva, yes, you have to have patience. If you are not able to live with it, you have to move.
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“He found here a good place to play consistently. It is true, he is performing in a good way for us, maybe over expectations.”
Meanwhile, Guardiola says he will sniff out any players who are not ready to play again after a gruelling Champions League spot-kick exit to Real Madrid in midweek.
Haaland is only 50-50 to play at Wembley after feeling a muscle problem at the end of 90 minutes.
But Kevin De Bruyne and Manuel Akanji — who also asked to be subbed against the Spaniards — are ready to play.
Guardiola said: “We’ll try to smell who feels better and who recovers better from the game against Madrid.
“They’ll say, ‘I’m fine, Pep’ when you talk with them, but you never know who is fine, some recover better than others.
“But Friday the feeling was better than Thursday.
“Everyone is ready to do this battle again.”
