Pep Guardiola delivers a sly jab at Manchester United while responding to Omar Berrada’s unexpected departure.

Pep Guardiola delivers a sly jab at Manchester United while responding to Omar Berrada’s unexpected departure.

Just last week, reports surfaced indicating that United was poised to name Berrada as the club’s new CEO, coinciding with new investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s efforts to revamp the club’s leadership structure.

The announcement caught many off guard, considering Berrada’s pivotal role in City’s recent achievements, having served as the Blues’ chief football operations officer before his departure from the club.

Addressing the media before City’s FA Cup showdown against Tottenham Hotspur, Guardiola seemed to subtly poke fun at United while responding to Berrada’s exit.

He told reporters: “I don’t know if, by making this move, everything will suddenly fall into place and work out. Maybe United believe that hiring this individual will bring about a complete transformation — if that’s the case, then congratulations to them. If it does pan out, then they will owe a debt of gratitude to Omar Berrada in the future because he certainly deserves it.”

Guardiola continued: “Kevin De Bruyne remains at Man City, Erling Haaland will continue to feature here, so it’s not as straightforward as that.”

“Obviously Omar’s knowledge goes to United, that’s the reality. The club will move forward. We will adapt. I saw him yesterday, we hugged. I wish him the best because he’s a fantastic person.”

It has been a challenging season for United under Erik ten Hag’s leadership, with struggles to extract the best from the available players.

Currently sitting eighth in the Premier League table, the Red Devils find themselves 11 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa and a considerable 16 points behind league leaders Liverpool.

Their European campaign proved disappointing, ending at the bottom of their Champions League group behind Bayern Munich, FC Copenhagen, and Galatasaray.

Looking ahead, United will resume their campaign this weekend with an FA Cup fourth-round fixture against Newport County on Sunday afternoon.