Pep Guardiola Once Named Manchester United’s Best Player — And Admitted He’d ‘Take Him Tomorrow’

Pep Guardiola once gave Ryan Giggs a revealing answer when asked which Manchester United player he rated most highly — and his choice was Marcus Rashford.

During a dinner attended by Giggs around eight or nine years ago, the legendary former United winger asked Guardiola which player at Old Trafford impressed him most. The answer immediately caught him off guard.

Guardiola did not choose David de Gea or Luke Shaw. Instead, he singled out Rashford and made his admiration unmistakably clear.

“I would take him tomorrow,” Guardiola reportedly told Giggs.

Guardiola Saw Something Special In Rashford

Giggs recalled the exchange during an appearance on Rio Ferdinand Presents, explaining that Sir Alex Ferguson had seated him next to Guardiola at the dinner.

“There’s about eight of us, so he [Ferguson] sat me next to Pep,” Giggs said.

He then asked Guardiola: “You know, who do you like at United?”

When Guardiola turned the question back on him, Giggs suggested De Gea and then Shaw, only to be told neither was his choice.

“He said the best player at Man United, Marcus Rashford. I would take him tomorrow.”

For Giggs, the comment raised an obvious question: what exactly had Guardiola seen in Rashford that made him rate the young forward so highly?

At the time, Guardiola was viewing Rashford primarily as a centre-forward, a position in which the England international had already shown flashes of his considerable potential.

Rashford Has Had Plenty Of Big Moments Against City

Rashford’s career at United has since taken a number of twists and turns.

He burst onto the scene in 2016, scoring on his senior debut, and has produced seasons in which he reached the 30-goal mark. But his career has also been marked by inconsistent form and periods when his conduct and performances came under scrutiny.

He has also enjoyed some particularly memorable moments against Manchester City.

Before Guardiola arrived at the Etihad, Rashford scored the winner against City, while in 2024 he produced a spectacular long-range strike against them.

He has scored seven times against City across his career, making Guardiola’s admiration especially intriguing given the damage Rashford has repeatedly inflicted on his former side.

United And City Rarely Do Business

A direct move between Manchester United and Manchester City remains one of the rarest transfers in English football.

Carlos Tevez’s controversial switch from United to City in 2009 remains the most prominent example in recent history, while the two clubs have regularly competed for the same players without doing business with each other.

That was again evident this summer when both Manchester clubs showed interest in Elliot Anderson.

Giggs admitted he attempted to persuade the England midfielder to choose United, but Anderson had already made his preference clear. He eventually completed a £116million move from Nottingham Forest to City.

Guardiola may have left the Etihad after a decade in charge, but his old assessment of Rashford offers a fascinating glimpse into how highly one of football’s most celebrated managers once rated United’s forward.

And given Rashford’s best moments against City, Guardiola’s choice has certainly aged in an interesting way.