Pep Guardiola insisted his compliments about Real Madrid are not him 'taking the p***' as he made a friendly joke about his former foes.
The Man City manager was in fine spirits before his side's Champions League quarter-final second leg clash against Los Blancos at the Etihad on Wednesday, which is live on talkSPORT2.
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The reverse fixture played host to a pulsating 3-3 draw with the Spanish giants as ex-Barcelona manager and star Guardiola took on his old El Clasico foes.
But despite their history, Guardiola has now stated he is being genuine when he gives praise to Carlo Ancelotti's side, cracking an X-rated joke in the process.
With a smile on his face, Guardiola said at Tuesday's press conference: "I think it [was] an exceptional team last season, the previous one, this one.
"I know when I said good things about Madrid the people don't believe me in Madrid. They want to say some jokes or whatever, that people always believe I am taking the p***."
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He laughed: "It's not about that!"
Aside from looking forward to another mouthwatering tie and going back to the top of the Premier League table, Guardiola gave Man City fans more news to celebrate as he provided an update on Kyle Walker.
The star Man City defender was out of action for the first leg due a hamstring problem picked up in the international break with England last month, with Manuel Akanji stepping in.
On the possibility of Walker playing on Wednesday, Guardiola said: "I am going to see at training [how he is]. He has had one or two training sessions.
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"He feels good with his mood. I don't know if from the beginning, or from the bench, but I think he will be with us tomorrow.
"It is incredible good news for many reasons. Today at 4pm we have the last training session and we will decide.
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“Of course Walker is important. The attributes and quality of Kyle everyone knows it, he is special."
Meanwhile Ancelotti has named an ineligible player in his 22-man squad that have travelled to England.
Man City saw off Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals of last year's tournament, with Guardiola's team going on to win their first ever Champions League.
If the first leg is anything to go by, Wednesday night's clash under the lights at the Etihad will have plenty of goals to look forward to as two of the world's best go head-to-head.