Monday 4 July 2016 09:40, UK
Former Barcelona defender Carles Puyol believes Pep Guardiola's arrival at Manchester City will see standards improve across the Premier League.
The 45-year-old led Bayern Munich to a hat-trick of Bundesliga titles after winning three La Liga crowns and two Champions Leagues with Barcelona.
Puyol was captain throughout his time at the Nou Camp and believes this next chapter for Guardiola will see the success continue.
"I think he is going to do a great job," Puyol said. "He has been a great coach for us. I appreciated working with him.
"I think he is going to be an asset for the Premier League, although I don't know the Premier League.
"I think they play somewhat differently and therefore he might bring new techniques to them, which could be very beneficial for the Premier League."
Guardiola's arrival at City along with Jose Mourinho's appointment by rivals Manchester United and Chelsea's decision to hire Antonio Conte sees three of England's big-spending teams trying to get back to the top next season after Leicester City upset the odds to claim their first title in May.
Leicester shocked the football world when they became champions - but an achievement on a similar scale seems unlikely in La Liga due to the dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid have threatened that duopoly in recent years and Puyol has not ruled out a similar situation arising in Spanish football one day.
"Well, you never know," Puyol said. "Nobody expected that to happen in the Premier League either but it just happened that the Premier League top clubs weren't doing so great.
"And all of a sudden this little one just sprang up, so you never know. It can happen anywhere, really.
"It depends on the context and you just have to wait and see, I guess."
