A former international star has claimed he could not find a club for four years because of Pep Guardiola's revolutionary tactics.
Luca Toni, the fourth-highest-scoring Italian player of all time, was recently in conversation with the Manchester City manager and former international teammate Roberto Baggio at a restaurant in Italy.
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The trio are all connected by the fact that they represented Italian club Brescia at different points in their respective playing careers.
During the conversation, a video of which has been uploaded to Instagram, Toni jokingly said that Guardiola's introduction of the 'false nine' concept caused the former attacker to struggle during the latter stages of his playing career.
"Pep, you ruined football," the former Bayern Munich star remarked, per the Express.
"With the false nine, I couldn't find a team for four years.
"Seriously. Can you say that you only used the false nine with [Lionel] Messi? Do you even like centre-forwards?"
Guardiola responded: "I have it. [Erling] Haaland, 60 goals. We won the treble with that striker, but the centre-forwards must be good! Understand?"
Toni concluded: "Okay, but stop it with false nine now. Big centre-forwards are better."
The Spanish tactician saw much success while utilising Messi in the false nine position at FC Barcelona, a role that sees the striker drop deep to collect the ball and become more involved in build-up play.
It was a successful period that saw the Spanish giants win three LALIGA titles, two UEFA Champions League trophies, and two FIFA Club World Cups, among other remarkable achievements.
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However, as the City boss stated, he has also been considerably successful with Haaland, who fits the description of a more traditional centre-forward leading the offensive line.