I was part of Pep Guardiola’s first-ever title win but ended up playing 5-a-side in Stockport

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola continues to show a ruthless edge in the transfer market in his pursuit of winning titles.

The Spaniard has waved goodbye to icons Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker, having passed the €2billion spent mark on signings in history.

Jack Grealish and James McAtee have been shown the Etihad exit, but the door has been firmly closed on Savinho joining Tottenham.

Guardiola’s mentality when it comes to chopping and changing his squad dates back to his first steps in management at Barcelona.

Gai Assulin came through the ranks under the City boss while at Barca, even earning the nickname the ‘Israeli Messi’.

Former Liverpool star Thiago Alcantara even described Assulin as ‘the most talented player I’ve ever seen in La Masia’.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2021, Assulin admitted: “They like to compare in football. It is something they do all the time, and for me it is a big compliment, but [Lionel] Messi is the greatest footballer in history.

“Sometimes it is not good if you take it in the wrong way, as the expectation is for you to go on to the pitch and do the same as Messi all the time.

“Whichever club I went to, they saw I was compared with Messi, so they thought I was going to be Messi and score 50 goals a year, so that comparison at the time was not as positive.”

Assulin had the world at his feet after scoring 10 goals for Barca B in the 2007–08 season to help Guardiola win his first title as a manager.

He told Sky Sports in 2018: “It was definitely the best time of my career.

“It was not just the goals, I really enjoyed playing under such a great person.

“He was very close to all of the players. I think that is one of the reasons why we gave everything for him.

“Everyone enjoyed the style of play. He gave us a lot of freedom.”

When Guardiola made the step-up to take the senior Barcelona job, Assulin was among the starlets most heavily linked with following.

However, the winger’s first-team minutes amounted to just 56 minutes of a Copa del Rey tie against Cultural Leonesa in 2009.

Assulin, who had accrued his solo cap for Israel the year before, had a reported difficult relationship with Barcelona B boss, Luis Enrique.

He signed for Manchester City on a free transfer in 2010 and was on the books for Sergio Aguero‘s Premier League title-winning goal.

Assulin’s career stalled after his Barcelona debut

However, Assulin was restricted to reserve matches after failing to impress Roberto Mancini and was sent on loan to Brighton.

He was released after that 3-2 win over QPR, and a journeyman career followed, mostly in the Spanish second tier.

The former Football Manager wonderkid also had spells in Israel, Kazakhstan, alongside Andrey Arshavin, Romania, and Italy.

His career seemingly ended at the age of 30 playing for Crema in Serie D, and now he plays five-a-side football in Stockport.

What does Gai Assulin do now?

Assulin, who retained a hope of finding another club four years ago, added to the Guardian: “Football is something irreplaceable.

“Everything I did in my career is obviously connected to the football I learned in Barcelona and especially coached by Pep.

“I grew up as a kid in Israel, in a small town and my dream was to play first-team football for a professional club.

“I gave everything with my dad, who pushed me the most because he really believed in me.

“I never thought in a million years I would be playing for the first team at Barcelona – that was so far from my dream.

“I only dreamed to play for a normal club, but things got better and better, so I have achieved that, so that will always stay with me.

“I was the youngest player to represent the Israel national team, which is an unbelievable achievement.

“When you can’t find a club, there are a lot of thoughts in your head, ‘What should I do? Should I stop?’ But it is not an option for me, as football is everything.”