Graeme Souness has made a bold claim about Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, insisting that the Spaniard is not a genius and that his success is down to having the best players.

Graeme Souness has dismissed the idea that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is a genius - attributing his success to "having the best players".

Souness made these comments during an appearance on William Hill's new podcast Three Up Front, featuring Simon Jordan and Troy Deeney, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Despite Guardiola having won 37 major trophies with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, Souness refuses to label him a genius, instead suggesting it's the top-tier players at these clubs that have contributed to his impressive trophy haul.

On the podcast, Souness stated: "Pep Guardiola has managed three clubs and in all of those he has had the best group of players in whatever league he's been in".

He continued: "He took over from Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona where he had Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and many others. He went to Bayern Munich after they had just won the Quadruple. Then he came to Manchester City where he took over a side that both Manuel Pellegrini and Roberto Mancini had won the Premier League with."

The 71-year-old argued that before Guardiola's arrival in Manchester in 2016, the City squad only required "the slightest bit of tweaking" from the Spaniard before he began a reign of dominance in England that includes five Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, and two FA Cups.

"He took over an exceptional group of players in every case," said Souness. "City are the richest team in England and they only needed the slightest bit of tweaking when he took over. He obviously manages players very well, but there is no genius there. It is just about having the best players".

Adding to this, Souness suggested: "If you have an average manager with great players, then you have a chance at being successful."

"I've been in dressing rooms where everything had been set in stone for the squad by the players that came before us, so the manager barely had to speak to us."