Sports star admits he wants Man City to move instead of Ruben Amorim's Man Utd reunion

Sporting Lisbon star Maximiliano Araujo is hoping to join Pep Guardiola at Manchester City despite his former manager Ruben Amorim recently taking charge of their local rivals.

New Manchester United manager Amorim has overseen Sporting's flawless start to the season and left them top of La Liga Portugal with 11 wins from 11 games. The Portuguese giants also beat City 4-1 in the Champions League last week, with Araujo starting on the left wing and giving Sporting the lead in the 49th minute.

The Uruguayan found time to chat with Guardiola after the final whistle. And amid the uncertainty at Sporting in the post-Amorim era, he didn't shy away from discussing the chances of one day joining the Spaniard.

Asked about the possibility of Guardiola luring him to the Etihad Stadium, Araujo said: “I hope so, I hope so… I asked him for a photo, we spoke for a few minutes and he congratulated me. I'm very happy with that. We talked about the game, nothing more.

City have not been linked with Araujo, who played club football in Mexico before Sporting's arrival this summer. Meanwhile, left-back is a problematic position for United due to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia's ongoing injury problems.

On top of that, neither player has much experience in the winger role that Amorim is set to deploy in his favored 3-4-3 formation. It remains to be seen whether this combination of factors encourages the Red Devils to push for Araujo in January – despite his call for Guardiola to come and get me.

Reflecting on his first months in European football, Araujo says he has a new-found respect for his Uruguayan teammates who found success on the continent.

“I am very happy, I am gaining minutes and I am playing in a great team collectively and individually,” said the 24-year-old. “It was difficult for me at the beginning, the team was already consolidated, but now I'm adapting very well and I'm gaining minutes. It's important.

“With this kind of thing, we end up admiring [Federico] Valverde, [Rodrigo] Bentancur, [Manuel] Ugarte and all those who are more in Europe, because it is difficult to have continuity.”

Uruguay faces Colombia and Brazil during the ongoing international break. When Araujo returns to Sporting, he will be led by new manager Joao Pereira, who was promoted from the B team following Amorim's departure.