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Pep Guardiola once told Ryan Giggs that Marcus Rashford was the best player at Manchester United and he would sign him “tomorrow” if given the chance. The admission, made during a private dinner years before Guardiola’s exit from Manchester City, is a rare confession from a rival manager about a forward wearing red at Old Trafford.
Rashford came through the academy ranks at Manchester United and scored on his senior debut back in 2016. His career since has swung between brilliance and inconsistency. At his peak he produced 30-goal seasons, yet he has also endured stretches of poor form and public criticism over his conduct off the pitch.
Loan spells at Aston Villa and Barcelona followed before his return to Old Trafford, and Rashford has built a strong record against Manchester City specifically. Before Guardiola’s arrival in England, he scored the winner at the Etihad, and in 2024 he added a long-range strike that stunned the home crowd. Seven goals against City sit as the second-best return against any club in his career.
Giggs Recalls the Dinner Table Confession
Those performances clearly left an impression on Guardiola. During a dinner attended by Giggs, the Catalan coach spoke at length about Rashford and admitted he would sign him without hesitation.
“There’s about eight of us, so he [Ferguson] sat me next to Pep, this was about, I’m going to say about eight or nine years ago. I’ve gone to Pep and says, ‘you know, who do you like at United?’ He went, well, who do you think? So I went, De Gea? He went, no. Luke Shaw? I was just like, no. He said the best player at Man United, Marcus Rashford. I would take him tomorrow. And that just made me think, what’s he seeing Pep? And that was obviously as a centre forward.”
A Decade of Dominance and an Unspoken Transfer Rule
Guardiola ended his ten-year spell at the Etihad this past summer after a period of sustained success. Recruitment was central to that dominance, though the majority of his standout signings arrived from clubs overseas rather than domestic rivals.
Top Premier League clubs rarely trade players between themselves, and sending a talent to a direct rival is almost unheard of. The last significant transfer between the two Manchester clubs came in 2009, when Carlos Tevez switched sides in a move that sparked considerable controversy at the time.
The Elliot Anderson Tug-of-War
Both clubs have clashed over targets since. This summer, both United and City pursued Elliot Anderson, though the England midfielder made his preference for the blue half of Manchester clear from the outset. He completed a £116million move from Nottingham Forest to City. Giggs revealed he attempted to convince Anderson to reconsider and join United instead, but was turned down quickly.
Read also: Pep Guardiola’s Next Job Odds: Italy Make Their Move, But England Still Leads the Market
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