The 26-year-old won four Premier League championships, registered 95 goals and 46 assists in 236 games across all competitions during his five trophy-filled seasons at the Etihad Stadium between 2017 and 2022.
Jesus was widely touted as Man City’s successor to the great striker Sergio Aguero, but the Brazilian parted ways with the Citizens last summer in quest of regular first-team action and signed for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal for almost £45 million.
Jesus was Man City’s only known striker before he left the Etihad, but he preferred to play wide under Guardiola, leaving the Catalan manager without a natural focal point prior to the arrival of Erling Haaland.
Jesus has now spoken out about his difficulties getting playing time with the Citizens and how, after being passed over by Guardiola for a Champions League group-stage match against Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, he took the decision to leave the club during a heartbreaking phone call with his mother.
The Brazilian was benched in favor of Oleksandr Zinchenko, a left-back who is now an Arsenal colleague, and came on in the second half to score and assist in a 2-1 victory at the Etihad.
Jesus stated on the podcast “Denilson Show”: “There was a Champions League game, PSG, at home, in which he used Zinchenko as a false 9. Crazy situation.
“Two hours before the game, the team has a meeting, eats, takes a short break, and then heads to the game. He informed us of the team. I hardly even ate. I hurried inside and called my mother while sobbing, saying, “I want to leave.” He [Zinchenko] was put on, but he [I] wasn’t, so I’m going home. There, he placed a left-back. I lost my mind.
“I didn’t get warm. I felt awful. Guardiola contacted me five minutes after [Kylian] Mbappe’s goal made it 1-0. We won 2-1 thanks to a goal I scored and an assist from me. I believed I would play in the upcoming [Champions League] match, but I didn’t.
It’s difficult, Jesus continued, and there was a lot of it with Guardiola. Yet one changes. It’s very challenging. I made the decision to leave at that point. So I made the decision to go.
Despite having a difficult first season at the Emirates Stadium due to injuries, Arsenal’s new No. 9 managed to score 11 Premier League goals in 26 games, including six goals in his final 10 appearances in 2022–23.
Haaland’s astonishing 52 goals in 53 games last season helped Man City win the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League triple, and the Citizens have had little scoring issues overall since Jesus’s departure.