Manchester City are in “top hands” with Hugo Viana as director of football, according to predecessor Txiki Begiristain.
Begiristain has walked away from the Etihad Stadium after 13 years during which he helped build the City squad which won the treble in 2023 and four consecutive Premier League titles between 2021 and 2024.
The job of signing players was passed to Viana this summer after his arrival from Sporting CP. And Begiristain has backed the former Portugal international to seamlessly carry on his work.
“He has been a top selection,” Begiristain said. “I would say that he is quite close to what I feel I am. He is so calm but he is also very decisive.
“In the winter transfer window he couldn’t be here, he was at Sporting but I’ve seen it in the last few months, the criteria he has and the way he sees football.
“The decisions on players — I think we are in top hands.”
While Pep Guardiola has taken the bulk of the credit for City’s era of dominance in the Premier League, it was Begiristain who helped put the pieces together for each great team.
He arrived in 2012 when Roberto Mancini was in charge and won his first title under Manuel Pellegrini in 2014.
Begiristain was key in attracting Guardiola to City in 2016 having worked together during a successful spell at Barcelona.
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“We played together, and we have shared a lot,” Begiristain said.
“We then started working together. That helped when I was here and he was available and came here.
“You have to understand your role and then also you have to understand that he is the guy. He is the leader in the building, and he has to be seen like this.
“You have to help him to stay calm and show him that you are capable with the structures of the club to help him build the best team in the world.
“Once you have the best team in the world, he is going to make it play the best football in the world. With him you can have both of these.
‘With others, you can have the best team in the world, but you don’t play the best football. You have to have trust and of course, it helped that we are friends, and we played together.”