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One of the main advantages of being an elite manager is getting to work with the very best players in world football.
Pep Guardiola knows this better than most, with the Catalan coaching some incredible talent during his spells in charge of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and most recently, Manchester City.
With such a bountiful pool of stars to draw upon, competition to be the highest scoring Guardiola player is fierce and the battle is set to continue for many years yet. Here is how things look currently…
Before becoming a Stoke City cult hero, Bojan provided Pep Guardiola with 29 goals.
A stat that is less impressive when you realise that this took him 115 games.
From one Premier League icon to another, Thierry Henry managed 30 goals during his time with Pep at Barcelona.
This is considerably less than the 228 he registered under Arsene Wenger.
It took a long time for Leicester to let him go, but Guardiola finally linked up with Riyad Mahrez in 2018.
Since then, the Algerian has performed pretty well, netting 31 times and forming an important part of the team that won the 2018/2019 Premier League title.
The 2020/2021 season has been Gundogan’s best in a sky blue shirt so far.
After several years of being lost in the shuffle somewhat, he has added goals to his game of late, moving him up a few places in this list.
Guardiola was a long-time admirer of David Villa before he arrived at Barcelona at the beginning of the 2010/2011 season.
The pair hit it off immediately, with Villa forming a vital part of the (sort of) treble-winning side that campaign. After those dizzy heights, his form tempered, but he is still one of Pep’s shrewdest signings.
Bernardo Silva signed for Manchester City back in 2017 and after something of a slow start, he has become increasingly productive season after season.
Guardiola has been key in Silva’s development, helping him transform into one of the best right forwards on the planet.
David Silva will go down in history as one of Guardiola’s most reliable performers.
During his time at City with the manager, the Spaniard made 175 appearances, helping them win a host of trophies and of course, netting 34 goals.
Samuel Eto’o and Pep Guardiola may have only spent one year together, but what a year it was.
During the 2008/2009 treble-winning campaign, Eto’o managed 36 goals in 52 appearances. But at the end of that season he would be shipped out to Inter as part of the ill-fated swap deal that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic join Barcelona.
Mario Gotze’s fall from grace is a sad story.
At the peak of his powers, he was one of the hottest properties on the planet, before injuries and health problems caused a steep decline.
The 36 goals he scored for Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich – more than Franck Ribery managed – is testament to his rare talent.
Despite being better known for the passing side of his game, Xavi did still chip in with a few goals for Barcelona.
In games managed by Guardiola, he managed 36 strikes in total, including scoring in El Clasico back in 2011.
City received a rough diamond when Leroy Sane signed back in 2016.
Under Guardiola’s tutelage, the German blossomed into a scarily clinical forward, who notched back-to-back double digit goal returns in each of City’s Premier League title wins.
Guardiola has had a massive hand in turning Kevin de Bruyne into the best attacking midfielder on the planet.
So far, the imperious Belgian has managed 44 goals and we expect plenty more to come, so long as the pair remain at City.
Arjen Robben and Guardiola worked together when the Dutchman’s powers were supposed to be dwindling.
That did not stop Robben being ridiculously productive under the former Bayern boss though. Overall, the inside forward managed 47 goals and 30 assists while Guardiola was in charge.
Pedro was part of one of Guardiola’s greatest ever frontlines.
With the La Masia graduate on the right, Lionel Messi at false nine and David Villa on the left, Barcelona were unstoppable during the 2010/11 campaign, clinching a league and European double.
Pedro even scored in his side’s victorious Champions League final against Manchester United, one of 58 strikes he managed under Guardiola.
One of the major regrets of Guardiola’s career must be that he did not get to work with Robert Lewandowski before he went full beast mode.
Saying that, he did still manage to get 67 goals out of him in just 100 games.
Gabriel Jesus sure gets a lot of criticism for a player who’s scored 75 goals in 173 appearances – many of which from the bench – for Guardiola.
This includes a crucial, game-winning strike against Southampton, which ensured City became the first Premier League side to register 100 points in a single season.
Even by his own ridiculous standards, Thomas Muller’s strike rate under Guardiola is pretty great.
In three seasons together, Muller scored 79 goals in 148 appearances, also registering 46 assists.
Kicking off the top three is Raheem Sterling.
Sterling is a perfect example of Guardiola’s ability to turn a good player into a great one. Ever since the pair linked up in 2016, the England international has improved year on year.
Nowadays, few could argue that he is one of the few world class left forwards on the planet.
Sergio Aguero is a bonafide City legend and some of his best displays have comes under Guardiola.
In five seasons together, the Argentine has racked up 120 strikes, including three 20+ Premier League goal returns.
There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and Lionel Messi topping a goals list.
Like with most things involving La Pulga, his stats under Guardiola border on fantasy. In 219 appearances he managed 211 goals, just a handful less than his two closest challenges on this list combined.
Will anyone catch him before Guardiola hangs up his managerial cardigan? Probably not.
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