Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted he only wants "committed players" at the club, following Brahim Diaz's move to Real Madrid last week.
Image via Getty Images
The 19-year-old midfielder joined Real Madrid for a £22m fee after entering the last six months of his City contract.
Asked about Diaz's departure from the club, Guardiola replied: "Like I said many times, I don't want people that don't want to stay here.
"We did with Brahim everything we have done with Phil (Foden) and with Jadon (Sancho, who moved to Borussia Dortmund in 2017) - important players and we did absolutely everything. The only one who decides to stay is Phil.
Diaz being officially unveiled as a Real Madrid player (image via Real Madrid EN).
"We wish him all the best. Real Madrid is not a bad step, so hopefully he can take the minutes he wants and that he didn't want here for many reasons.
"He's a nice guy. Congratulations to the academy and the club for working so well, because important teams in Europe want out players."
Guardiola has insisted that City are not the only team in Europe who struggle to bring their players through to the first-team.
"They win opportunities on the field," Guardiola said. "But you have to take a look at all the big clubs in Europe, how many young players that are in the first-team immediately. Young players need time.
"David Silva, for example, he went on loan to become what he is right now. Some players have patience and trust in what the club wants to do, some don't."
David Silva has made over 250 appearances for City, scoring over 50 goals (image via BBC Sport).
The former Barcelona B boss believes there is an effective way to play more young talent, by improving the quality of the current quality of the Premier League 2.
"Create a good second league and you will see how many good players will be in the Premier League," Guardiola said.
"Play against real teams, compete every single weekend, with real games, fighting to survive. After, maybe the managers in the Premier League will have more courage.
"But now they play every week in friendly games, in front of 12 people here in the second team."