Pep Guardiola explains decision behind selling Cole Palmer ahead of FA Cup clash against Chelsea

According to Pep Guardiola, Cole Palmer requested to leave Manchester City, forcing the league winners to part with their "exceptional" academy player. Despite Chelsea's challenging season, Palmer, 21, has been a revelation since joining the Blues in a £42.5 million transfer move back in September. In 38 appearances, the offensive midfielder has amassed 23 goals and 13 assists for Mauricio Pochettino's team, who play City on Saturday in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley for a second time within two months.

Palmer is expected to do well again following his spectacular four goals during Chelsea's 6-0 victory against Everton at home earlier this week. Guardiola won't be shocked if Palmer ends up being the difference.

The Manchester City manager said, "He's an exceptional player. We knew this when he was here. He's a nice guy, a shy guy, with a lot of confidence, and he's playing fantastically well."

The Spaniard spoke about why Cole Palmer was sold ahead of the season, "He was asking for two seasons to leave. I said, 'no, stay'. But he still said, 'No, I want to leave'. What can I say? Cole is the decisive player of the season. Playing that level is exceptional. But we will travel to Wembley looking to win this game, and see what happens."

Pep Guardiola speaks about Manchester City’s title hopes coming to an end

Midweek Champions League loss against Real Madrid on penalties has left Guardiola's treble-winning team licking their wounds. To exacerbate the situation, the former manager of Bayern Munich and Barcelona is unsure about the availability of vital players Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.

Guardiola, however, acknowledges that City must recover and that there is no time to mope over being eliminated from Europe. Pep Guardiola added, "It is what it is, but I prefer to play this game than stay at home and think of the next Premier League game."