Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has shared insights into his career, which began as a ball boy at Barcelona before progressing to becoming a player and later managing the club.
Guardiola revealed that Barcelona holds a special place in his heart and is incomparable to any other team, despite his managerial stints with Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
The 53-year-old’s career can be traced back to his time with Barcelona Team C, where he played professionally from 1981 to 1984. In 1990, he was promoted to Team B, where he spent two years before making his senior team debut with Barcelona. His senior career at the club spanned 11 years.
Guardiola left Barcelona in 2001 to join Brescia. After Brescia, he went on to play for Roma, Al Ahli, and Dorados.
Guardiola won 15 major trophies as a Barcelona player, including La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey. As a manager, he guided the team to 14 trophies, including all major football titles.
“Barcelona was special… I started as a ball boy, became a player, and later a manager. It’s the club of my HEART, and Barcelona is always completely incomparable to other things.”
He added: “Being the manager of the giant that is Bayern Munich in Germany—they prove it with their structure, the city, and the mentality of that club.”
“But if I’ve been nine years at Man City, it’s because I found an ecosystem and many things that made me feel good. The reason I’ve been here so long—nobody is stupid not to see it—is because we won a lot. That’s why people trust me; we won, we continue, and we continue…”
When asked about whether his time at City could end like José Mourinho’s stint after achieving six Premier League titles, Guardiola responded:
“I hope NOT in my case! In the end, maybe we are quite similar…”
“But he won three, I won SIX…”
Pep Guardiola became the first manager in Premier League history to win six titles, with four of them coming consecutively. Despite his current struggles with the Cityzens, he is regarded as Manchester City’s greatest manager after guiding the team to its first UEFA Champions League trophy.
