Guardiola Reveals What He Told 'Idol' Zidane After Man City Eliminated Real From Champions League

Pep Guardiola has revealed what he told Zinedine Zidane after Manchester City dumped Real Madrid out of UEFA Champions League 2019-20 last week.

Guardiola's City shocked the 13-time champions twice in a span of five months to secure their place in the European tournament’s quarter-finals. Winning both the legs of their Round of 16 clashes, Man City progressed with an aggregate of 4-2.

It was Zidane’s first elimination from the Champions League as Real Madrid boss, having won it three times in his three previous seasons in charge when the Los Blancos had become the first-ever side to register a hat-trick of Champions League titles.

The first leg of the Round of 16 match between Real Madrid and Man City took place in February before the coronavirus pandemic struck the world. The return leg, which was played at the Etihad Stadium, took place five months later with Man City progressing and now will face French club Lyon in the last-8 match in Lisbon. Both sides are yet to lift the prestigious trophy.

After Real’s 2-1 loss at Etihad on Aug. 8, Guardiola and Zidane were spotted on the empty pitch having a lengthy conversation.

In a post-match interview, Guardiola was asked about his discussion with his "idol" Zidane. To which the former Barcelona boss replied, "I congratulated him for LaLiga. I always said to win the league is the most difficult title because it shows 11 months being there. We spoke about our families and I wished him all the best. He was one of my idols when I was a player. I played against him in the national team with France and I suffered a lot. He was one of the greatest and as a human being he is an example and I like how he can represent our profession like he does."

The Spanish giants are known for having a lack of patience with their managers. The likes Fabio Capello and Vicente del Bosque were sacked in the past for not winning the Champions League, even though they had led the side to La Liga titles. However, Zidane’s three successive titles between 2016 and 2018 will keep his job safe at the Spanish capital for a while.