He dismissed notions of failure and suggesting it may have been a greater achievement than a previous title win.

"I want to suffer when I'm not winning games," Guardiola told Reuters in an exclusive interview. "I want to feel bad. I want to sleep badly. I want that when the situation goes bad, it affects me.,I want that.

“I'm angry, my food, it tastes worse, I don't need to eat much because I need to feel that (anger). Because if it doesn't, what sense would it have? Winning or losing. We're here in this world to feel different experiences, different moods.”

The 54-year-old, who has won 12 domestic top-flight league titles across Spain, Germany and England, spoke about last season's challenges, which saw City finish third in the Premier League and fail to secure silverware in domestic or European competitions. It marked only the second trophyless season of his managerial career.

Guardiola rejected the idea that the season was disastrous, instead arguing that it may have been the most valuable of his tenure at City.

"You judge happiness if you win. You judge success if you win and win. And that is a problem," he said.

“I will not judge myself or my team because of bad seasons or good seasons. Maybe finishing third in a season and never giving up otherwise you finish 10th or 12th, maybe that's a better season than when we won the fourth Premier League in a row.

“We faced so many difficulties that were higher due to injuries, relaxation, I was not good enough for many reasons. Maybe the analysis about my period is that the last season was better. Qualifying for the Champions League when we were on the verge of not getting it.

--Reuters--