"Cole has been the decisive player, maybe of the season, in many aspects," Pep Guardiola said about Cole Palmer who he coached at Man City for years.
"He was asking for two seasons to leave and I said stay.
"He said he wanted to leave. What could we do? I said stay because Riyad [Mahrez] is gone but for two seasons he wanted to leave.
"He's an exceptional player. I didn't give the minutes that maybe he deserved and now he has at Chelsea. I understand completely.
"He's a shy guy with a lot of potential. It is what it is. He's playing fantastic so what can I say, the decision has been made for many reasons."
Palmer was not getting a lot of playing time at Man City, with players like Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne ahead of him in the pecking order.
This season has shown that Palmer was right to leave as he exploded onto the Premier League scene, scoring 20 goals in the competition for Chelsea.
