• Premier League

Mancini: City Judases betrayed me

ESPN staff
February 9, 2014
Roberto Mancini was sacked by Manchester City last May © PA Photos
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Roberto Mancini has accused Manchester City of betraying him by sounding out Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti to take over at the club, months before he was finally sacked.

Mancini, now in charge of Galatasaray, left City at the end of the 2012-2013 season after missing out on the Premier League title and losing to Wigan in the FA Cup final.

He also believes City chief executive Ferran Soriano and director of football Txiki Begiristain influenced chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak when it came to ending his time at the club.

"I know a lot of people in football and I found out afterwards that they were talking to three or four managers in February, March and April," Mancini told The Sun on Sunday. "I know they were talking to Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti, and these were the same people I was sat down with for dinner before the FA Cup final.

"It was like Judas. I trusted the chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak 100 percent, but not those other two guys. Probably he just followed them.

"Some people just don't have the courage to talk face to face. Even Khaldoon did not tell me to my face what was happening. He could not just come up to me and say 'we did four years together, we won everything, we are happy, but now the job is finished'.

"Instead they were working behind my back and sacked me two games before the end of the season. I did not even have the chance to say goodbye to the Manchester City fans."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
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