Douglas Costa has spoken of his affection for Pep Guardiola, the manager who brought him to Bayern Munich and helped him develop as a footballer, and his admiration for incoming coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Costa, 25, joined Bayern on a five-year contract from Shakhtar Donetsk in July 2015 and enjoyed a successful debut campaign with the German giants, winning the league and cup double in Guardiola's third and final season at the club.
In an interview with kicker, the Brazilian explained how Guardiola drew the best out of him with his coaching ability and advice.
"It's not easy to join a club like Bayern," he said. "But when you have the support of a coach called Guardiola then you think that you can become a different player, someone who can make the difference. Guardiola said it to me every single day.
"He also told me about [Lionel] Messi. 'Not to become Messi, because there's only one Messi,' he said. 'But you can do other things, things nobody else can do.' Guardiola really has something special and I have a great attachment to him."
Costa is also looking forward to working under Carlo Ancelotti, though. A coach who comes recommended by Brazil international teammate Marcelo and who has won major honours in Italy, England, Spain and France.
He said: "Sure, I will never again have a similar attachment to the one I have to Guardiola, the coach who brought me to Germany. But wherever Ancelotti was, he won championships, and he has won the Champions League with Real Madrid among others.
"He has a lot of qualities. Marcelo, who knows him from Real, only speaks well of him. He says that he's an excellent coach. And Bayern would never hire a coach if he would not be on a level with Pep. Bayern are definitely in good hands with Ancelotti."
Costa has been linked with a transfer to Barcelona as Neymar's replacement should the Brazilian depart.
But he insists he is content in Germany and focused on winning more silverware in Bayern's colours.
"To leave Bayern is nothing I currently think about," he said. "I feel really well at Bayern, it's an excellent time in my career and thus I want to continue and play at Bayern for a long time, win many titles.
"Bayern are the club which has raised my fame. Everything I am experiencing right now is because of Bayern. Everything makes sense. I was at Gremio to learn, and at Shakhtar to ripen and be able to make the move to Bayern."