PEP GUARDIOLA understands when players decide to leave in search of regular game time.
Manchester City forwards Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus are expected to be sold this summer.
Pep Guardiola will not stand in the way of players who want to leave
And they could be followed by defensive duo Nathan Ake and Oleksandr Zinchenko, while midfielder Bernardo Silva would like a move to Spain.
City boss Guardiola said: “The most complicated thing to manage in a team is the players who do not play and to keep them happy.
“There’s no solution — that’s why good players leave their teams, because they want to play.
“I cannot retain a player who does not play just because he has a contract.
Read More in Football
“I told my players I want to see them happy. We’ve known each other a long time and if anyone is unhappy, they have to leave.”
Jesus, 25, is poised to join Arsenal for £45million after fearing his chances would be limited by the arrivals of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez.
Sterling, 27, has similar concerns and is wanted by Chelsea, who have also enquired about Ake and Zinchenko.
And back-up keeper Zack Steffen, 27, will link up with Middlesbrough on a season-long loan — USA’s No 1 needs to play as the World Cup nears.
FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
Pep added: “We tell some players they will not play and they feel you don’t love them.
“That is the hardest because in this life, everything we do is to feel loved.”
