Gabriel Jesus has revealed that Pep Guardiola reduced him to tears by leaving him out of a Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain in November 2021, prompting him to call his mother and say he wanted to leave Manchester City.
The Brazilian striker, who now plays for Arsenal, told the Denilson Show in 2023 that Guardiola chose to deploy Oleksandr Zinchenko as a false nine for the group stage fixture, despite Jesus expecting to start. Jesus said he did not eat the pre-match meal and went straight to his room crying after learning the team.
Jesus recalled: 'I went straight to the room, crying, I called my mother to talk, 'I want to leave.' I'm going home, because he put him (Zinchenko) on, and he didn't put me on. He put a left-back there. I went crazy.'
Despite his frustration, Jesus came off the bench to score the winning goal in a 2-1 victory. However, he was again left out of the next Champions League game, which convinced him his future lay elsewhere. He left City for Arsenal in 2022, citing a shortage of consistent game time rather than the arrival of Erling Haaland as the reason.
Jesus has since thrived under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, helping the club win the Premier League title this season. He said: 'Now, I'm free on the field, playing ball with a smile on my face and trying to do my best always.'
