Pep Guardiola has revealed that Manchester City decided to sell Cole Palmer over the summer because he wanted to play more regularly.

Palmer surprisingly left Guardiola’s side for Chelsea on transfer deadline day for a fee in the region of £42.5m.

It was a move that many couldn’t initially understand, given that the 21-year-old had shown glimpses of what he could do in the few appearances he’d made for City.

Palmer’s transfer to Chelsea has however proven to be better than many would have anticipated, as he has been at the centre of everything in Mauricio Pochettino’s team.

Asked about the performances of the England youth international since he left the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola said at a press conference on Friday: “Really pleased. The reason why was that, he wanted game time.

“He has it so congratulations. He is a guy who came from the academy, he’s having success because it’s good for him and wish him the best.”

“Congratulations for Chelsea and him,” added the Spaniard when asked if he regrets selling Palmer.

Guardiola also spoke about Raheem Sterling, another ex-Manchester City player, who is doing well at Chelsea after leaving them to join the Blues in 2022.

“He’s playing really good, he’s back in his best moment with what I’ve seen of his performances lately,” he said.

“He created incredible dangers for opponents like what he did here for many, many years. He was a bit part of our success we had in the early years here together. Raheem was really, really important.”