Manchester City loanee Yan Couto details when Bayern Munich came calling and why he said no

Brazilian right-back Yan Couto is on loan at Girona this season, but the 18-year-old is eager to find his way back to Manchester City as soon as possible.

Couto holds Pep Guardiola in high respect — so much that he turned down the likes of Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona in order to hopefully one day work under the Spanish legend.

Couto recently sat down with Goal and revealed that the Bavarians approached him back in 2019.

Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images

“After the U-17 World Cup that we won with Brazil, some clubs were interested in me: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City,” Couto told Goal. “To me, Pep Guardiola is the best manager in the world, and Manchester City is one of the best clubs in the world at the moment, with a bright future. Therefore, to me, it was the best choice.”

Girona, of course, is a partner of City Football Group, so even though Couto is away on loan, he is still technically still in-house.

“I’m a modern right-back,” Couto said. “As a Brazilian player, I’m skilled technically, quick and consistent defensively. I help the team a lot in defense. My strongest point is the offensive side. I’m an attacking full-back who helps the team to create chances. Brazil has always produced great full-backs that are heroes to me: Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Dani Alves, etc. But the full-back that I look up to because we have a similar style of play is Cicinho. I like him a lot and how attacking he was, his dribbling was amazing. I have a similar style of play to him and he is my idol.”

While Couto previously detailed that learning German was a major obstacle for him, it seems that the presence of Guardiola was the true differentiator when he made his final decision on where to sign.