Pep Guardiola says Manchester City’s fans need to be “seduced” after club polls showed supporters would prefer to win the Premier League than the Champions League.
City open their ninth successive home campaign in the competition on Tuesday when they host Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb.
“I know for fans the Premier League is most exciting. But this competition is nice too,” said City boss Guardiola.
“We are going to try and seduce our fans and say: ‘We can do it.'”
Between 48,000 and 50,000 are expected at the game, with adult tickets still available starting at £20.
There is a history of City fans booing the pre-match Champions League anthem, which stems from a number of disciplinary issues the club’s supporters felt were skewed against their team.
In addition, performances on the pitch in Europe have been some way below expectation for a side that has amassed 198 points in winning the past two Premier League titles and completed an historic domestic treble last season.
City have reached the semi-final once, under Manuel Pellegrini in 2016. The best they have managed during Guardiola’s three campaigns is two quarter-finals, which ended in defeats by Liverpool and Tottenham.
“We have done polls and people prefer, by far, to win the Premier League rather than the Champions League,” said Guardiola.
“I don’t know why but that is the reality of our club and we have to accept it. I think it is because, in the past, they were not in this competition.
“We were at home in the bars, drinking beer watching Liverpool and [Manchester] United. That’s the culture of the club.”
It has been felt City’s owner, Sheikh Mansour, wants to win the Champions League as proof of the club’s status as one of Europe’s superpowers.
Guardiola says he has never been told this – and thinks it is important that if City reach the pinnacle, they do not quickly disappear.
“We want to win it but if we don’t, I am not going to kill myself,” he said.
“Barcelona is the club in my heart. They didn’t win it until 1992 but they were born a long time before that.
“I have a feeling we are closer but this competition is a high level and I wouldn’t want to arrive once in the final and then disappear for five years. That would not be good.”
