Pep Guardiola boasts after winning the award Manager of the Month (MOTM) English Premier League for the 11th time, but immediately shrank when he learned the number of MOTMs won by Manchester United legend, Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Spaniard picked up MOTM for the second time in a row for his achievements with Manchester City throughout December, with them winning all their Premier League games that month.
This title makes him the third-most MOTM winner in Premier League history, only behind Arsene Wenger and Ferguson.
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With Arsenal, Wenger successfully won 15 MOTM titles, while Ferguson tops the standings with 27 titles.
After being told about his achievements at a press conference, Guardiola smiled mischievously while boasting: “Be careful, Sir Alex, Arsene… I will follow!”
But when he heard that Ferguson won 27 MOTM during his 26 year career with Man United, Guardiola gasped with amazement.
“How much?!” he replied. “Oh my god! Okay… It’s his. I definitely won’t go after him!”
Although Guardiola’s achievements are less than half of Ferguson’s, the 50-year-old coach won the MOTM faster than the legendary manager.
Guardiola is currently in his sixth season in the Premier League, while Ferguson has completed 21 seasons.
So if the City boss decides to stay in the EPL for a long time, he could potentially win 27 MOTM titles.
Ferguson ended 13 of his 21 seasons in the EPL as champions, and was named as Manager of the Year as many as 11 times.
Guardiola has also won the award three times while guiding City to glory in 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2020/21.
City have one league game to go in January and if they beat Southampton, Guardiola could add to his MOTM coffers as he solidifies his path to a fourth Premier League title in five years.
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