Pep Guardiola says Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Manchester Cheap Manchester United football kits are right to use Manchester City as a benchmark if they are to challenge them for trophies. The new minority owner at Old Trafford said the club had “a lot to learn” from its rivals after ratifying the purchase of a 27.7% stake this week.

City have won the Premier League title on six occasions since Cheap Manchester United football kits kids achieved the feat in 2013, and will aim to close the gap at the top to one point by defeating Bournemouth on Saturday.

“That’s the truth,” Guardiola said of Ratcliffe’s praise for City. “As much as teams admit it, they will be closer to us. If they want to deny it for things that are not reality, that’s their problem. It’s not our problem. When I’ve been under teams, I’ve always admired them and thought about what we have to do to be close, to challenge them. These are real competitive people. If they want to be judged on things they’re comfortable with for a day, they’re not going to get where we are now.”

Ratcliffe’s eagerness for sixth-placed United to catch City in the long term has seen him lure Omar Berrada to Old Trafford from the Etihad to be chief executive, and Cheap Manchester United football jerseys kids has turned to Jason Wilcox, who worked at City for a decade, in a bid to create a football department capable of making the club competitive at the top again.

One of Ratcliffe’s aims is to knock City “off their perch”, an homage to Sir Alex Ferguson’s comments about Liverpool in the 1980s. “What I want is that Man City, my team, is there,” Guardiola said in response. “The rest I don’t care about. We want to be there. With Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] and José Mourinho they were second; I would say not close as Liverpool have been, but they were there. Ever since I arrived on day one, I always expect United to be there for their history and traditions. I don’t know why it didn’t happen. I guess they know [why]. It’s their business, not ours. What we want is to be there for ourselves.”

Another person with United links eager to use City as a study case is Wayne Rooney, who said he would “go” to be Guardiola’s assistant if the job was offered. “He can come at any time, more than welcome,” Guardiola said. “For our city, of course, he is important. He is a red devil, he is United, but of course it is nice for all of us. Rooney has been one of the greatest in this country of all time, so if he gives compliments for all of us, it’s nice.”