Not playing Garcia breaks my heart, Guardiola admits

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says that not fielding Eric Garcia this season broke his heart.

The 20-year-old defender featured 20 times last season and won broad praise for the manner in which he equipped himself when called upon.

However, he has only played on nine occasions this time around, including only three appearances in the Premier League.

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What did Pep say?

Asked about the centre-back’s situation, Guardiola said: "Eric Garcia is like a son. He was a guy last season that after lockdown was our best central defender. He never made a mistake and played in the quarter-final of the Champions League.

"He's going to play in Barcelona and that is not an average player -…