Guardiola backs Ratcliffe to bridge the gap between rivals Man Utd and Man City

Pep Guardiola believes Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s deference towards Manchester City’s success backs up his prediction that the new co-owner can bridge the gap with their cross-town rivals.

While City’s manager insisted that they will continue challenging for honours during his time in England, he does believe that Manchester United’s structural changes will give them an extra dimension.

Ratcliffe has studied the specifics of City’s set-up before taking the reins at Old Trafford and they’ve pressed ahead with the capture of Omar Berrada as chief executive. Moves for Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox are also ongoing.

‘It's not about (being) worried (about United),’ Guardiola said. ‘I'm pretty sure with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the other people that United going to take a step backwards.

‘I feel that they know exactly what they have to do, appoint the people they need to appoint with their experience in the business world to make projects better.

‘When I’ve been below teams I’ve always admired them and thought about what we need to do to be close, to challenge them. These are real competitive people. If they want to be judged on things they are comfortable with they will not arrive where we are now.’

Ratcliffe was effusive in his praise of City during the week and Guardiola, asked if he felt flattered by that, replied: ‘It’s the truth. As much as the teams admit it, they will be closer to us. If they want to deny it for things that are not the reality then it’s their problem. It’s not our problem.

‘When we were below and United were winning, we were watching them, admiring them. We wanted to learn from them.

‘The period of Sir Alex Ferguson – the generation with Roy Keane, David Beckham, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand – and all those big