FORMER Italy striker Luca Toni had a hilarious bone to pick with Pep Guardiola as he accused the Man City manager of “ruining football.”
Toni blamed Guardiola’s false-nine system as the reason that he couldn’t find a team for “four years” before he retired.
Toni, 47, shared some cheeky banter with the Premier League manager during a spot of dinner in Italy on Tuesday night.
The former Bayern Munich No9 revealed Guardiola’s revolutionary style at Barcelona made it difficult for him to draw offers from other clubs.
The system saw Guardiola use Lionel Messi as a false number nine, a tactic he repeated for years in the Prem too, before bringing in goal machine Erling Haaland.
Aiming the camera at him and laughing, Toni said: “Pep, you ruined football. With the false nine, I couldn’t find a team for four years. Seriously.
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“Can you say that you only used the false nine with Messi? Do you even like classic centre forwards?”
This sparked a fit of laughter from Guardiola, who has been enjoying his short break in Italy during the international break.
Guardiola quipped back: “I have it, Haaland, 60 goals.
“We won the treble with that striker, but the centre-forwards must be good! Understand?”
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Toni reluctantly agreed before responding: “Okay, but stop it with false nine now. Big centre-forwards are better.”
Guardiola and Toni were at dinner with ex-Italy international Roberto Baggio at a restaurant in Lombardi, northern Italy.
The three former players are united by their connection to Brescia, having each played for the club at some point in their careers.
Toni posted the comical interaction in his Instagram with the caption: “‘Thank you, my friends. It was nice to see you again.”
Toni scored more than 300 goals in his domestic career and also 16 goals in 47 appearances for Italy before he retired in 2016.
The 2006 World Cup winner left Bayern Munich in 2010, three years before Guardiola took over in 2013.
The Italian was likely referring to the “four years” after he left the Bavarians, where he first went to Roma on loan.
He then joined four different teams between 2010 and 2013.
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After Roma, Luca moved to Genoa, then Juventus and Al Nasr in Dubai, before returning to Italy with Fiorentina and Verona.
Meanwhile, Guardiola returns to work with Manchester City travelling to face Wolves, who are winless in the Prem, on Sunday.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
