Pep Guardiola has led Manchester City to Premier League glory in five of his six full seasons in charge, but does not rank as the best manager.
Kevin-Prince Boateng rates Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi as a superior manager to Pep Guardiola in the Premier League.
Boateng never experienced Guardiola’s leadership firsthand, having played for Barcelona in 2019. This came long after the Manchester City manager’s departure from the club in 2012. That said, the German-born Ghanaian did work with De Zerbi at Sassuolo, managing five goals and one assist in 15 games.
“Is De Zerbi better than Guardiola? I say yes,” Boateng told TV Play.
“If I had De Zerbi 10-12 years ago, football would’ve been different. I think he will be the best coach of the next 20-30 years.
“He has been able to improve every single player he worked with, from the understudy goalkeeper to the striker. I worked with him when I was 32 years old and I felt stronger than I’ve ever been. De Zerbi makes you feel really involved, he knew how to coddle me when I needed it, to motivate me when I needed that. He really looks after the human rapport aspect of management and that is fundamental.”
Boateng retired from football in August after leaving German team Hertha BSC.
The former attacking midfielder played for several teams around Europe in his career, including Tottenham, AC Milan, Besiktas, and Barcelona.
He also won 15 caps representing the Ghanaian national team and scored two goals.
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