Cape Town - Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has compared the standards of the Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga, concluding that each league has it's own stengths.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich mentor has shared his insights on the most intense league in the world, having led his former teams to numerous domestic titles in both Spain and Germany respectively
"I hear a lot of times about the intensity of the Premier League when none of you have been in La Liga or the Bundesliga to know how it is," he told ESPN.
"The problem here is maybe that there are more games but the way that they play in Germany is... [whistles]... it's amazing. I think you have to have respect for the other leagues, how they play and the way they play," he added.
The Citizens travel to face Guardiola's former employers, Barcelona, in a Champions League encounter on Wednesday, and the 45-year-old believes that the dominance of the Catalans is justified, based on their style of football.
"Of course Barcelona is special in how they play, a machine. Three amazing players in front, good counter-attack, the way they build-up, so when they win 4-0 it's because they deserve to win 4-0," he continued.
"I think every league has it's points but especially it's the quality of the players and that's the reason why. In Spain in the last seven, eight, nine years they're winning or in the final of all the European competitions because they play well because they have good players. That is the reason why.
"Here there are more games to play, but the intensity in Italy, in all of these places, is the same," he concluded.