Pep Guardiola refuses to bite after Gary Neville jibe at ‘boring’ Man City – as Spaniard reveals he has NO interest in following the United legend into club ownership ahead of Salford City FA Cup tie

Gary Neville branded Manchester City ‘difficult to watch’ 11 months ago and said he was ‘bored’ of watching Pep Guardiola’s side.

Well, he doesn’t have a choice on Saturday night as Salford City — the club he part-owns with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and other members of Manchester United’s Class of 92 — pitch up at the Etihad to try to knock Guardiola and his stars out of the FA Cup.

Despite his jibe, Guardiola was in no mood to settle old scores on a cold afternoon in Manchester on Friday, instead suggesting the job Neville holds as a pundit is one he could never take on himself.

‘I don’t think I’m going to do that,’ said the City boss, who is aiming to win his third FA Cup. ‘I am so cautious or concerned to not make a comment that could hurt my colleagues.

‘I know how difficult our job is. I don’t want to pretend to be sitting there and know what happened. It’s so unpredictable and many things happen.

‘Always when I hurt someone it’s delivery, when I don’t want it. It’s to defend my club.

Neville branded Man City ‘difficult to watch’ 11 months ago and was ‘bored’ of Guardiola’s side

Man City will face Salford City in the FA Cup third round, a club Neville is a part owner of

‘I always had the feeling of how difficult it is. I was a football player before and now a manager. Our business is so complicated. It’s unpredictable, so difficult. I don’t want to hurt my colleagues.

‘Maybe (becoming a pundit) is going to happen in the future, but honestly I don’t think so.’

So, Guardiola has no problem with the likes of Neville, who rarely bite their tongue — particularly this season with City struggling so much.

‘It’s a job they do, it’s normal,’ added Guardiola. ‘If it’s boring, if they say obvious things, people will not pay attention. But normally I quite agree with what they say. I’m not joking. I quite agree with what the pundits say about the games.

‘It’s not a big problem for me. Managers get paid for many reasons. One of them is to accept what people say in the good and the bad moments.’

Guardiola has no interest in following in Neville’s footsteps with club ownership, either.

‘No. I’m not good on that,’ he said. ‘I’m sometimes a good manager but as a businessman I’m not good so I’m absolutely not interested in that.’

Guardiola is expected to name a much-changed City side tonight but Ruben Dias and John Stones remain unavailable.