Pep Guardiola: I Wish Rico Lewis Were A Bit Taller

Pep Guardiola says he couldn’t be more impressed by the start Rico Lewis has made to the new season.

The 19-year-old has featured in all six of our games this season and was up for the Etihad Player of the Month in August based on his excellent start to the campaign.

His manager asserts that he has more than justified his spot on the team, highlighting his versatility as one of his many valuable qualities.

“I see sometimes when players are asked, they say, ‘yeah, I’m a holding midfielder’ or ‘I am a winger.’ Rico can play football, and you put him in a position, and he knows exactly what he has to do.

“All the games he has played so far, he has been good and that’s why he’s deserved the minutes he has had so far.”

Lewis made his debut in the 2022-23 season as a late substitute during a 4-0 victory against Bournemouth. He followed this up with his first start in November, contributing to a 3-1 win over Sevilla.

At just 17 years and 346 days old, he became the second-youngest English player to score in the Champions League, behind Jude Bellingham.

By the end of the season, Lewis was a Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League winner, making 23 appearances. Fourteen were in the league, a contribution Guardiola credited as key for showing his established elite talent how to operate the hybrid role.

“The movement he does makes many things fluid,” he said. “After that, Kyle [Walker] realizes, and John [Stones] playing in that position has been exceptional.”

During his press conference on Friday, Guardiola was reminded of his previous statement in which he expressed a desire to have 10 Fernandinhos on his team, praising the Brazilian’s capability to deliver top performances in any position he was assigned.

Guardiola also admitted he would like more Rico Lewis’s but added he wished he was a touch higher in height.

“Yeah, I would like him to be a bit taller, but his mum and dad didn’t give him these attributes,” he smiled.

“He’s so good in so many aspects he always wins the ball, he’s so intelligent defensively and so aggressive v one.

“He played against one of the best wingers in Europe, and of course, he can come in midfield and play, or centrally, and arrive in the final third with intelligence and do many things, but he’s a good defender.”