Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has said “only small clubs” don’t sell to rival teams.
In the summer of 2022, Guardiola sanctioned the sales of both Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal.
He has also allowed Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer to make the move to Chelsea.
Chelsea, meanwhile, allowed Mateo Kovacic to join City for an initial £25m in the summer.
Guardiola believes these types of transfers should happen as long as all parties are happy.
When asked if he has ever prevented a player from joining a rival club, Guardiola said: “Never, ever.
“From my point of view, I give my opinion to the club and they decide if the transfer suits both sides and the player. Why? I think that means you are a small club.
“Big clubs, they don’t prefer [care], they make decisions for the benefit of all three parties – players and both clubs and agents sometimes.
”So really it is not a problem. They want to go to Chelsea or United or Liverpool, whatever, what is the problem?”
