Gerard Pique believes Pep Guardiola is the perfect mentor to develop John Stones into a world-class defender at Manchester City.
Stones moved to the Etihad Stadium from Everton for a fee in the region of £50 million earlier this month, becoming the most expensive British defender in the process.
The England international's ability to play out from the back is tailor-made for Guardiola's style of play, which Pique is fully aware of having played under the Catalan boss at Barcelona.
And Pique, who believes Stones is England's best defender, believes the 22-year-old will flourish under Guardiola's stewardship.
"Stones is a great player, the best central defender England have. I like how he plays, it's a similar style to mine," Pique told Marca.
"Pep will help him to a lot to take a lot of risks with the ball. It's like poker - sometimes, you have to take risks.
"But being in defence, you have to control those risks. I think he'll do well."
This season sees two managerial heavyweights go head to head in the Premier League following the arrivals of Guardiola and Jose Mourinho at Manchester City and United respectively.
Pique, who left Old Trafford for Barca in 2008, says his allegiances still lie with his old employers, rather than his former manager.
"Between Pep and United, I go for the latter," he said. "I had some really good years there and I've always considered it as a second home.
"I'll always be more of a Red Devil, although I have to admit that I follow City fondly because there are people there I know, like Txiki [Begiristain, City director of football], who helped me come to Barcelona, and [Spain] team-mates like [Jesus] Navas and [David] Silva."
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