Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists he remains good friends with Ernesto Valverde despite the Barcelona coach's blast last week.

Valverde accused his former Barca teammate of speaking directly to Frenkie de Jong before the Ajax midfielder agreed to sign for the Catalans.

Asked about the claims, Guardiola would only say: "I will not answer Ernesto, he's my friend.

"De Jong will go to Barcelona. Period.

"He's not our footballer so sometimes we have to accept that some come and some do not."