Pep Guardiola has defended the passing skills of his goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Manchester City boss praised the Italian's composure, control and short passing game, saying the 26-year-old is "much, much better than people think", with the ball at his feet. However, the Spaniard admitted that the ex-PSG man's long passing could not compare to City's former keeper Ederson.

• Guardiola defends Donnarumma's passing

  While Donnarumma's ability between the sticks cannot be denied, his perceived shortcomings in distribution led many people to question whether Guardiola would follow through on a transfer after the Cityzens were linked with the keeper in the summer. 

  
  The Sky Blues would eventually pull the trigger on a £26m ($35m) transfer for the 26-year-old, after he was deemed surplus to requirements in Paris despite helping Luis Enrique's side to their first Champions League title. Les Parisiens opted to put their faith in Lucas Chevalier, with the 24-year-old's €40m (£34.5m/$47m) switch signed off in part due to his superior distribution. 

  City made the space for Donnarumma on their books by offloading Ederson to Fenerbahce for £10m ($12m). The Brazilian is viewed as one of the best passers from the goalkeeping position in world football. 

  Given Guardiola's history of preferring keepers renowned for their passing ability — most notably signing Claudio Bravo to replace Joe Hart shortly after taking the job at City in 2016 — his decision to sign Donnarumma raised some eyebrows. However, given these comments, it's clear the three-time Champions League winning coach thinks his new number 1 is not getting the respect he deserves.