"I had never head of Manchester City" - When Mike Tyson took cheeky dig at Pep Guardiola's side
Boxing legend Mike Tyson once took a sly dig at Manchester City, claiming he had never heard of them. The American boxer returned to the ring to face YouTuber Jake Paul on Friday, November 15, in Dallas, Texas, in a Netflix boxing event.
Tyson, who entered the ring after 19 years, was defeated via a unanimous decision, despite winning the first two rounds. Manchester City fans, though, wouldn't mind the 58-year-old's defeat, especially after a comment that has once again surfaced in recent days.
On The Clare Balding Show in 2013, Mike Tyson said that the only time he heard about the Citizens was due to their crosstown rivals Manchester United.
“I’ve been in Manchester for a long period of time and I’ve never heard of Manchester City. The first time I heard about Manchester City was because of Manchester United,” said Mike Tyson.
Manchester United were the more dominant team during that era as City were largely under their bitter rival's shadows. However, Manchester City have been on the rise since, especially following Pep Guardiola's arrival.
The Spanish manager has won the league six times since arriving at the Etihad in 2016, including the last four titles. City have also won the Champions League, the FA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup, among other honors under Guardiola.
How have Manchester United and Manchester City fared this season?
Mike Tyson has been pictured wearing a Manchester United shirt, so his allegiance to the Red half of the city could be behind his dig at Manchester City. Unfortunately, the Red Devils haven't been in their element of late.
New minority owners INEOS took charge of the club in February this year and have made a string of changes behind the scenes. They opted to part ways with Erik ten Hag at the end of October following a poor run of results.
Former Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim has already been handed the keys to the first-team squad at Old Trafford. The Portuguese took charge as Manchester United head coach on Monday, November 11.
Interestingly, City are going through a mini-crisis at the moment. Pep Guardiola's team have lost the last four games across competitions, including a 4-1 defeat to Amorim's Sporting in the Champions League.
The Citizens are second in the Premier League table with 23 points, five points behind Liverpool.