Ranking Pep Guardiola’s 5 best player projects

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#3 Joshua Kimmich

Kimmich progressed rapidly under Pep Guardiola's watch

Pep Guardiola is often praised as the man who unlocked Joshua Kimmich's game at Bayern Munich and it's not difficult to see why. Under the guidance of the manager, the German rose from being an unknown figure to becoming one of the finest and most versatile midfielders in Europe.

Perhaps no one can explain Guardiola's influence on Kimmich better than the player himself. The 26-year-old spoke on the subject sometime ago:

“He [Guardiola] showed me positions in which I had never played before and in which I didn’t even know I could play. He showed me spaces on the pitch that didn’t exist before for me."

“I played different positions. With Pep, it’s really important to know where teammates are at every moment and also where opponents are. So you learn and get another feeling of the space," added Kimmich.

Joshua Kimmich has been a constant in Bayern Munich's team since arriving at the club in 2015. So far, he's made 268 appearances for the Bavarians across all competitions, bagging 30 goals and 74 assists to go with 17 trophies.

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#2 Kevin De Bruyne

Pep Guardiola helped De Bruyne become one of the finest midfielders in Europe

Kevin De Bruyne, of course, wasn't at a bad level when Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City in 2016. The Belgian was indeed putting up a number of promising displays for the Cityzens. However, the credit goes to Guardiola for transforming him from just a good player to one of the best midfielders in the world.

De Bruyne improved drastically under the tactician, dictating play in the center like a boss, while scoring goals and creating chances for his teammates. He became the difference maker for Manchester City, helping the club win three Premier League titles within the last four years.

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#1 Lionel Messi

Pep Guardiola's most successful player project

Pep Guardiola played a huge part in nurturing Lionel Messi to become the greatest footballer in history. With a whopping 14 trophies won during their time together, there's no doubt the Argentine enjoyed the best moments of his career working with the Spaniard.

The most influential impact Pep had on Leo was converting him into a false-nine. The attacker thrived in the role, scoring almost at will and winning four consecutive Ballon d'Or awards between 2008 and 2012.

During the 2011-12 season, the attacker set the record for the most goals scored by any player in a single campaign. He bagged 73 efforts for Barcelona across all competitions. Messi hasn't neared that level since Guardiola left Camp Nou, with his highest season tally coming in 2014-2015 when scored 51.