Pep Guardiola has emphasised that Manchester City could not stop Palmer from leaving the club.
Cole Palmer signed for Chelsea last summer. After not getting enough playing time at Manchester City. The England international played just 359 minutes last season.
The 21-year-old is one of the best players in the Premier League this season, leading the league’s goalscoring charts with former teammate Erling Haaland. He is expected to be in the England squad for Euro 2024 in Germany this summer.
Cole Palmer will face his former club during the FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Manchester City. Pep Guardiola has spoken about Palmer’s request to leave the team after not getting enough minutes.
“He’s an exceptional player, we knew when he was here. I’ve said many times, I didn’t give the minutes that maybe he deserved and now he has at Chelsea. I understand completely,” Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference.
“He’s a shy guy with a lot of potential. It is what it is. He’s playing fantastically well.
“But he was asking for two seasons to leave. I said ‘no, stay’. But he still said ‘no, I want to leave’. What could we do? I said stay because Riyad [Mahrez] has gone but for two seasons he wanted to leave.”
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