Of Samir Nasri's 176 appearances for Manchester City, only one came under Pep Guardiola. Yet he was responsible for one of the more strange stories in Guardiola's nine-year tenure.

Nasri was a late substitute in Guardiola's third Premier League game before insisting on a loan move to Sevilla in order to seek a fresh start following a year of hamstring issues. It was in Spain where Nasri let slip that Guardiola banned his players from having sex after midnight in order to get the best night's sleep, regardless of if they were playing the next day.

Guardiola laughed off the comments. “It’s impossible to play good football if you don’t have sex with your partner," he joked. "I never did that and I would never ban that. If you are doing it, [then] better players!”

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For that miscommunication to be the most notable connection between Guardiola and Nasri's short time together is telling. A prime Nasri would surely have slotted in perfectly to Guardiola's system, particularly in that first season when he was trying to impose his new ideas.

But Nasri wanted to make up for lost time, and went out on loan to Sevilla. "Guardiola wanted me to stay, but when your head needs a change, after five years in Manchester - where I had lots of injuries last season - I wanted to start something new and fresh," Nasri said on his arrival to Spain, who boasted current City assistant and close Guardiola confidante Juanma Lillo on their staff.

"I spoke with Guardiola and he told me what a great trainer Juanma Lillo was. This was all I needed to know. It was perfect for me."

A season in Spain followed and Guardiola was opening the chequebook ahead of a second season in which he would never look back. Nasri left permanently for Antalyaspor, with Guardiola saying: "We wanted to keep him last pre-season but he decided to go to Sevilla.

"He knows the situation. We have a lot of midfield players. We take care of him when he is here. I like to work with the guys who want to work with us. I saw him in these three games and his spirit in the training sessions.

"Still I'm waiting for a bad performance. He's a guy who has unbelievable ability to keep the ball in small spaces. The ball is safe. He has his own special quality. The group are satisfied with him and his behaviour."

If Nasri was hoping to kick on, however, he would be given further setbacks as his time in Turkey ended after just six months, terminating his contract in January 2018 before being handed a six-month ban from UEFA for breaching anti-doping rules following an intravenous drip of water containing nutrients - made famous by the infamous 'Drip Doctors' night on social media in December 2016.

The ban would later be increased by 12 months, but back-dated, and he was able to return to football at the start of 2019. He returned to the Premier League with West Ham but only lasted six months at the London Stadium. A reunion with Vincent Kompany followed at Anderlecht but he couldn't shake the injuries off and retired after being released during the Covid pandemic.

Maybe he should have taken Guardiola's advice and stayed at the Etihad.