- Pep Guardiola showed his team a video when he first arrived at Man City
- He highlighted something Kevin De Bruyne did which pleased him
- The manager encouraged the rest of the team to do the same
Bacary Sagna has revealed what Pep Guardiola told his players during one of his first team talks as Manchester City’s manager.
With Pep Guardiola’s recent exit from Man City, ex-players are sharing their stories about what it was like to work under the legendary figure.
Bacary Sagna spent just one season at the Citizens when Guardiola was in charge, but even he has some great memories.
In fact, the Frenchman has spoken about how Guardiola showed his team a video to highlight why their mindset needed to change.
Pep Guardiola pointed out a problem within Man City’s squad
Sagna has revealed that Guardiola played a video which showed City’s reaction to qualifying for the Champions League in 2015/16.
The Citizens had just drawn with Swansea City in Manuel Pellegrini’s final match, and only one of their players was in the mood for celebrating.
🗣️ Bacary Sagna explains why Guardiola showed replays of the final whistle at Swansea at the end of the 2015-16, when City clinched a CL spot with 1-1 draw in Pellegrini’s final game
— Sam Lee (@SamLee) May 27, 2026
“As we walked in, the first video we did, he showed the replay of Kevin De Bruyne.
“What… pic.twitter.com/NrAwsuHkjs
“As we walked in, the first video we did, he showed the replay of Kevin De Bruyne,” Sagna told The Athletic.
“What happened is we were disappointed about that because if you are a competitor, you cannot be pleased about coming third or fourth in the league.
“We reached the semi-final of the Champions League, so I think you cannot be pleased with that, so even though we reached the target of qualifying, the disappointment was bigger.
“Pep paused on Kevin De Bruyne celebrating. As soon as the referee blew the whistle, he paused, and only Kevin raised his hands, both of his hands. And he was like, ‘Guys, I have a question.
“How come only Kevin was celebrating, you guys just qualified for the Champions League, and none of you are celebrating? None of you are happy? Only Kevin is celebrating?’
“He said to us, ‘I want guys like him, happy to have achieved something. And this is not normal, because you did achieve something,” he continued.
“Of course it is not what you expected but you qualified for the Champions League, which is massive for this club.’
“He said this is where I want to take you guys, to celebrate the little details. And I was like, I should try to be more positive, enjoy football and enjoy moments like this.”
Guardiola understood the process of being successful
After this speech, Man City delivered a campaign where once again, there was not much to celebrate at the end of it.
However, Guardiola’s team lifted silverware in his second season at the club, and in total they won 20 trophies during his tenure.
Ultimately, the manager knew that it takes time to win the biggest competitions, so it is important to enjoy each step of the journey.
Qualifying for the Champions League may not have been a novelty for the Sky Blues, but every achievement helps move the team towards an even greater goal.
The message from Guardiola has remained the same
Over the past week, Guardiola has told Man City fans to enjoy the process under the next manager.
Instead of waiting to win one of the biggest competitions in order to be happy, it is important to take joy in the smaller achievements.
This message should be taken on board, because should Enzo Maresca be given the job, he might take time to deliver a league title.
But every small victory is working towards this eventual success, and positivity is needed to keep on pushing.
