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Pep Guardiola gave a brutal seven-word message to Cole Palmer prior to his surprise £40 million switch to Chelsea.
Palmer came through the ranks at City and helped the Blues win the treble last season, playing 25 times in all competitions.
But going into the current campaign, the 21-year-old was desperate for more game-time after scoring in both the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup finals.
On deadline day, Palmer ended up penning a seven-year deal with Chelsea and has been a revelation at Stamford Bridge.
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His stunning four-goal haul against Everton on Monday saw him take his tally to 23.
Growing into Chelsea's talisman, Palmer now looks to be a shoo-in for England's Euro 2024 squad after being fast-tracked into Gareth Southgate's plans.
According to Palmer himself, he did not push to leave City and preferred a loan move away.
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But Guardiola did not give Palmer that option, hence why he moved on permanently.
"Initially I didn’t want to leave" he said in an interview with the Daily Mail.
"I said I would go on loan and play for a year so I was ready for first team football more because I didn’t play a lot of minutes [last season].
"But then Pep said 'you’re either staying or you’re getting sold' and, so yeah, I just got sold.
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"I was a bit confused why they wouldn’t let me go on loan but [then] I said I wanted to go to Chelsea and I’m glad it’s turned out the way it has."
Responding in February, Guardiola said he "understood" why Palmer wanted more minutes but pointed out the world-class players he had been competing with.
Speaking in a press conference, Guardiola said: “If Palmer had the minutes I gave to Phil [Foden] from the beginning, Cole Palmer would be here - but I didn't give them to him.
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"That is my responsibility. Why? Because of Bernardo [Silva], Riyad [Mahrez], Phil. In that moment, I chose the other ones.”
Palmer will come up against his former side for the third time on Saturday when City and Chelsea meet in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Chelsea
Josh Lawless