Pep Guardiola praised Manchester United defender Harry Maguire as exceptional ahead of the Manchester derby.
Manchester City were looking to sign a centre-back in the summer to replace the departing Vincent Kompany and were keen on Maguire but would not budge beyond their £70m valuation, while United were happy to meet Leicester's £80m price.
The England international has had an immediate impact at Old Trafford and as well as improving the defence has also seen his leadership skills recognised; he captained the side in the Europa League game with FK Partizan after convincing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with his impact in the dressing room.
City, meanwhile, appear to have paid a heavy price for choosing not to sign Maguire or any other player to cover for Kompany - especially once Aymeric Laporte suffered a long-term injury in August. Their defence has been leakier than usual and they trail Liverpool by 11 points in the Premier League table.
Ahead of one of the biggest fixtures of the season where the Blues could kick off even further beyond given the leaders play at Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon, Guardiola was not interested in speculating on the difference Maguire might have made to the City team but did give his verdict on the 26-year-old.
"He's a United player. He decided. They paid more than we wanted to pay and he's there," he said.
"I think he's an exceptional player for United, for the national team, and he decided to go there."
