Manchester City fans were left perplexed as Pep Guardiola was once again snubbed for the FIFA Best coach’s award.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel instead took home the prize from the ceremony on Monday, having guided his side to the Champions League trophy, after beating City in the final last year.
The German bested Guardiola, who claimed another Premier League title as well as the League Cup last year, and former City boss Roberto Mancini, who guided Italy to victory at Euro 2020.
It’s quite the achievement for Tuchel, who only took over at Stamford Bridge at the end of January 2021 . For Guardiola though, it’s yet another year in which his achievements with City haven’t been recognised.
The 50-year-old is yet to pick up the award since its inception in 2016 – in fact, the best the Catalan has managed so far has been a second place finish behind Jurgen Klopp in 2019.
Rather more confusingly, this year saw Guardiola make the top three for only the second time, despite City’s dominance in the English game over the past few years.
And having seen their manager miss out once again, City fans were far from happy as they reacted on social media.
Speaking about winning his award, Tuchel said: "It was a pretty normal day so far at training. I have just come here. But now you have said my name and it is pretty surreal. I am overwhelmed and a bit uncomfortable.
"I enjoy the journey and the club. It is a good fit. The company on the journey is so good. We lost a bit of track to Manchester City in the league but we follow our goals still and be the best version of ourselves."
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