Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has refuted claims his club behaved disrespectfully while on a pre-season tour to China.
In an opinion piece published by Chinese state news agency Xinhua, it was claimed that the Premier League champion showed “utter disrespect” to locals, treating the trip as “nothing more than a commercial obligation.”
The report alleges that players refused to interact with fans and that the club allocated lengthier interview time to British, rather than local, media.
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City defeated West Ham 4-1 in Nanjing but lost on penalties to Wolves in the final of the Asia Trophy in Shanghai.
“I should say I don’t agree and also that it’s false,” Guardiola told reporters at a press conference in Hong Kong. “To make a statement like this they have to know exactly what happened here in our club.
“We had an incredible time in Shanghai. We were committed to the cooperation you have to do here in China. The people from the hotel, all the people were asking us to do things and we were ready to do that.
“To come to Asia and experience the culture, the restaurants – it’s amazing to get to know other people. That’s why I can’t understand what people are saying. Maybe one journalist is a bit upset, I don’t know why – but it’s far away from the reality.”