Leroy Sane has been told there will be no hard feelings if he quits Manchester City for Bayern Munich.
The Germany winger is expected to leave the Premier League champions at the end of the season, with Bayern hoping to complete a deal they saw collapse last summer.
Sane was close to a move to the German giants before suffering knee ligament damage in the Community Shield.
While City have remained hopeful he could be convinced to commit his future to the Etihad, Bayern remain favourites to lure him away once he makes a full recovery from his injury.
And Pep Guardiola insists he will not take it personally if he loses the 23-year-old – despite revealing his role in bringing a then-unproven Sane to the club.
He added that their relationship remains strong: “It’s (only) awkward because I cannot see him on the pitch. He’s making his recovery. That is awkward for all of us but, no, he’s a nice person.
“I know him quite well. I was the guy who pushed for the club and convinced him to come here even though he didn’t play regularly for Schalke.
“I have no doubts about him and his quality, but what I’ve said many times is each one has his own family, desires, dreams and, above that, I cannot do anything else.
“It’s a question for Leroy, his agents and the club, I’m not involved in that. What’s important now is that he has to recover well, that’s the most important thing, and after that he knows what we think of him, that we believe in him and after that it depends on him and the club.”
