Pep Guardiola believes Marcelo Bielsa would have won more trophies than him had he been in charge of the Barcelona dynasty he guided a decade ago, while adding that he would have struggled to transform Leeds United's fortunes the way the Argentine did.
Bielsa left the Whites earlier this season with the team in the thick of a relegation battle, but his exit has not dulled the respect that the club, the city and the manager's peers have for his talents.
Guardiola has made no secret of his admiration for his fellow tactician, and has now revealed that he thinks if their positions had been reversed, it would only highlight the gulf in quality between the two, despite the Spaniard holding far more honours across his shorter career.
What has been said?
Speaking toTelemundo Sports, Guardiola burnished his already famous admiration of the Argentine with the claim that the latter would have conquered more titles than he if gifted control of the Blaugrana - and that he would not have been able to transform his Whites side.
"Give him my Barcelona and you will see how he will win titles," he said. "Give me Leeds, with all due respect to the Leeds players, but I would still be in the Championship."
Guardiola and Bielsa's relationship
Much was made of the bond shared between Bielsa and coaches who have been inspired by his methods during the latter's stay with Leeds, but the relationship between him and Guardiola stretches back beyond their Premier League days.
The Argentine famously helped persuade the Spaniard to take up coaching near the end of his playing days, and the pair then faced off in the 2012 Copa del Rey final, when Guardiola's Blaugrana beat the former's Athletic Club to the title.
Guardiola led the tributes to Bielsa following his dismissal by Leeds in February, describing his stay at Elland Road as "spectacular" after he guided a previously struggling Whites team back to the Premier League following their demotion 18 years earlier.