Speaking to TNT Sports’ Roll the Tape with Darren Fletcher, Gallagher reflected on his experiences with Guardiola, who he now counts as a friend.
The Spaniard has been at the club for a decade, and has delivered six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups and a UEFA Champions League title, as well as a UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
City have staged an impressive comeback in the second half of the season, and now could consider themselves favourites to win Guardiola his seventh league title.
Gallagher looked back at his first time meeting the Catalan, and remembered how their friendship developed.
He explained that he had admired the coach ever since the legendary Barcelona team he assembled with Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.
Noel Gallagher speaks to Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City on the pitch after the Premier League match between Manchester City and Huddersfield Town at Etihad Stadium on May 6, 2018 in Manchester, England.
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He said: “Everybody who loves football, loved that Barcelona team.
“And when they came to London, they were playing Chelsea or Arsenal, we’d go and see them, just to see [Lionel] Messi and that midfield. It seemed like a brand-new way of playing football, where it was just pass, pass, pass, pass.
“But I’d never met him. I flew in from Rome, I was on tour. He arrived, and from the minute he walked in, I was sold. I still haven’t watched the interview back. I was given a load of questions, and I don’t know whether I asked any of them.
“He gave me his phone number, and took mine, and said, ‘can I call you if I need anything?’. And I was like…
“He wanted to know about the fans, and the history of the club – and Manchester.”
He praised Guardiola’s attitude, and was grateful for their relationship, adding: “I was talking to him last night. He’s a fan and a romantic, and he’s hardcore, a winner, and a bad loser, all the things you would want your football manager to be. He’s funny.
“He gets that team to do things that no one else can do. I have to say it’s one of life’s great pleasures to have known him.”
Gallagher also had words of praise for another major figure in City’s recent history, former club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
“I remember being taken to meet Khaldoon [Al Mubarak], the chairman, early on at one of the games,” he said. “When I met him, after 90 seconds, I was like, ‘this is one of the most impressive men I’ve ever met in football’.
“He was so eloquent in what was about to happen, and so realistic and focused. Everything he said, and they said they were going to do, they did times 10.”
Highlights: Haaland hat-trick sends Man City to Wembley after Liverpool thrashing
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City a northern ‘powerhouse’
Gallagher credited the current owners for the transformation of the club’s fortunes after years in the doldrums.
He said: “I remember Joleon Lescott saying to me after the first FA Cup win, ‘your club are going to be in finals and semi-finals from now’, and we were like, ‘one cup will do us’. He was right.
“Every year the standards went up. They had this vision of what this club could be, and nobody else did.
“The people my age who kept this club going, followed them everywhere in the third division – there wouldn’t be a club if it wasn’t for people like me, of my generation.
“We just wanted a new kit. It was awful. I was like, ‘if we get a new kit and win the League Cup’ – clubs like Middlesbrough had won it – that would be enough in my lifetime.
“Nobody knew it was going to be like this. Nobody had this vision. They did thankfully, and I’ve thought it through, and now we’re one of the powerhouses. It’s funny to think, me and the lads were jibbing the train to Macclesfield on Friday nights. Crazy.”
Gallagher picks ‘killer’ De Bruyne over Silva
Fletcher also asked Gallagher about some of the most important players during Guardiola’s tenure.
Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva have now both left the club, but the two playmakers were vital in their pomp. For Gallagher, the two are almost neck-and-neck in his all-time ratings.
However, he gave the nod to De Bruyne overall.
“For me, him and David Silva are like this,” he gestured, showing his hands close to one another.
“Silva was sublime, just one of the most beautiful footballers. Never seemed to get tackled, never seemed to get injured, was always available, but De Bruyne was a f****** killer.
“He made passes that nobody in the stadium could see. I remember one game against Stoke. He hit a pass to Leroy Sane, who was four miles away and in a different country, and it took out six defenders and the goalkeeper. No one in the stadium had even seen it. That’s Kevin De Bruyne.
“He made the legend of Erling Haaland. Erling knew once Kevin got the ball, where the ball was going.
“This is where we’re at now with [Rayan] Cherki is a little bit different. He’s going to take the p*** a bit, and he’s not making those decisive runs to the far post anymore.
“But they’ll get there, they’ll learn. But De Bruyne is the best I’ve seen, the best striker of a football I’ve ever seen.”
When Liam asked for a ‘slap on the a***’ from Pep…
Gallagher concluded by recognising the importance of Guardiola, not just to City, but as a friend as well.
The musician focused on the club’s recent history first, telling Fletcher: ”As the manager, he’s given me, us, the greatest moments in all of our City lives. I can only speak of my generation.
“The younger lads take it for granted, and good for them. Those in their 50s, he’s given us everything.
“Great football, great moments. Heartbreaking moments like when we got knocked out of the Champions League by Tottenham. Getting beaten in the Champions League final. He’s given us all these heartbreaking moments.”
Moving onto Guardiola as a man, he recalled one humorous interaction with ‘Our Kid’ – his nickname for Oasis singer Liam Gallagher.
“For me, personally, the way he’s treated my friends and my kids, and invited us in to share these moments, I couldn’t put it into words,” he said, before revealing a moment from the band’s recent reunion tour.
“Him and our kid met for the first time backstage. You know when he subs players, and he gives them a slap on the a***, our kid says, ‘you know, mate, one of my dreams is to get a slap on my a*** from you’.
“Pep is like, ‘really?’, and slaps him on the a*** before he goes on stage. I’m like, I want one now!
”I’m proud and honoured to say he’s a friend of mine, and hopefully forever will be.
“Whatever he does after City, whether it’s a club or an international team, I’ll be supporting them 1000%. He’s the king.”
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