Ruud Gullit believes not having Lionel Messi in his side is the reason Pep Guardiola has struggled to replicate his Champions League success with Barcelona at Manchester City.
The 48-year-old saw his side exit the competition last night at the hands of Tottenham , as Mauricio Pochettino's men progressed on away goals after a dramatic contest at the Etihad Stadium that featured five goals in the first 21 minutes.
Spurs eventually prevailed via the away goals rule, despite losing 4-3 on the night, with Fernando Llorente's bundled effort from close range proving to be the decisive goal as Raheem Sterling was denied an injury time winner after VAR showed Sergio Aguero was offside.
The result ended City's hopes of winning a quadruple this season and meant their wait for Champions League glory goes on, with the club not yet reaching the semi-finals of the competition during Guardiola's time in charge.
And Gullit believes there is one key reason why Guardiola has not replicated his success at Barcelona on the European stage with Bayern Munich or Manchester City in recent seasons, having previously won the competition twice with the Catalan giants.
"It's because he doesn't have [Lionel] Messi. That makes a huge difference," the former Chelsea and Newcastle boss said, speaking on beIN Sports.
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"He [Guardiola] tried to do it with Bayern Munich. He was close every time, but he couldn't do it.
"Winning the [Bundesliga] championship in Munich is not an achievement anymore because they win it almost every year. And I know Pep, this is what he wants. He wants the Champions League and I feel sorry for him.
"Of course when he was with Barcelona he had an unbelievable team inherited from [Frank] Rijkaard, who Messi had already made his debut under. And then Messi became even more important. And Messi was vital in a lot of games for him when he was with Barcelona."
This was the second year in a row that Manchester City had exited the competition at the quarter-final stage at the hands of a Premier League rival, having lost out against Liverpool in the last eight last season.
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Meanwhile, Guardiola's old side Barcelona are in the semi-finals of the Champions League again, where they will face Liverpool, with the winners of that tie going through to the final to face either Tottenham or Ajax.
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