The 3 under-23 players to score 50 goals under Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest managers in the history of football – but which young players have thrived the most under his watchful eye?
From his first job at Barcelona in 2008 to his current thriving Manchester City side, Guardiola has been blessed with some prodigiously talented goalscorers.
We’ve crunched the numbers to discover the young players who have been the most prolific under Guardiola’s management.
Lionel Messi
It’s no surprise that Guardiola continues to laud Messi to this day, especially when the Argentinian scored 211 goals in 219 appearances under his management.
“During my time at Barca, I had many great players in the team, and without Messi we would have won trophies… but as many trophies as the ones we won with Messi? Impossible,” Guardiola once said.
“With Messi I had the sensation that Phil Jackson [Basketball coach] had with Michael Jordan. Jordan won six NBA championships, and I won many trophies with Messi.”
Messi turned 23 in the summer of 2010, by which point he’d already scored 85 goals under Guardiola’s management and won the Champions League in 2009. Insane.
READ: Messi or Ronaldo? Pep Guardiola has settled the GOAT debate without hesitation
Erling Haaland
Haaland only spent one season under Guardiola before turning 23 in the summer of 2023 – but it would be a record-breaking one.
Joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund, the Norway international scored an incredible 52 goals during their treble-winning campaign and cemented his status as the best striker in world football.
He’s continued to score with free-flowing regularity since and has been so effective that Guardiola has made City’s tactics more direct to get the best out of him.
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Phil Foden
It takes something truly special for an academy graduate to break through and make it at Guardiola’s expertly-coached team of superstars at Manchester City.
“Phil Foden agrees to sit on the bench for six years,” read Sun journalist Neil Custis’ infamous tweet when the rising star signed a contract at the Etihad in December 2018.
And in 2024? Foden has notched 88 goals and 54 assists in 277 appearances for City, won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and the Champions League.
Sixty of those goals came before Foden turned 23 in May 2023, a true testament to both his ability and Guardiola’s management of his blossoming talent.