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Pep Guardiola is arguably the master of beautiful football. The former Barcelona man has had a successful managerial career, having won every major trophy available. He's regarded as one of the best managers in the world, and some even consider him the best manager ever.
The Spaniard became famous with his tiki-taka football in Barcelona, as the Catalans were nearly untouchable during his tenure, and even gave their arch-rivals, Real Madrid, a 5-0 thrashing. His second venture with Bayern Munich was also a successful one, winning the Bundesliga title on all three occasions.
The former Barcelona boss is currently at Manchester City where he has changed the dynamic of English football altogether. Last season, City broke the points tally, reaching 100 points in the league.
However, what stands out is the brand of football the blue half of Manchester City is showcasing at the moment. They are hard to beat, and are well on course to successfully retain the Premier League.
A man like Pep Guardiola who is so much praised by the footballing world is not short of haters either. He has been criticised for shutting players out, players he didn't fancy at all. Here is a list of three former Barcelona players who don't seem to be on the good books of the Spaniard.
#3 Yaya Toure
Guardiola is the dream manager of almost every player in the world. However, one man who will be glad never to have to play under him again is Yaya Toure.
At 23, the Ivorian midfielder was at Olympiacos, emerging as one of the brightest prospects in Europe, and drawing the attention of top clubs in the world. A Barca deal got finalised, and Toure became the trusted defensive anchor behind Xavi and Deco. But when Pep took over, things changed.
Pep sold Ronaldinho & Deco, and brought in the likes of Pedro and Busquets. The arrival of the Spanish midfielder eventually resulted in Toure's downfall. This left Toure aggravated, and he moved to City, claiming Pep didn't care about him until the transfer offer came in.
Years later, they reunited again at City where Yaya again found himself on the bench. He left Manchester City before the start of the current campaign.
#2 Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o was one of the most feared strikers of his generation. He won the treble for Barcelona under Guardiola, and another one with Inter Milan under Jose Mourinho. Across the two campaigns, the Cameroonian professional footballer scored a total of 52 goals.
Despite Pep Guardiola winning LaLiga and the Champions League in his first season at Barcelona, Eto'o felt the manager had proved nothing. The former Chelsea man felt slighted about being told what to do.
Eto'o didn't like Pep lecturing him about how a striker should play when Guardiola himself was a midfielder as a player. Both of them reportedly spoke only few times throughout their season together, before Samuel moved to Italy. That was also the only campaign Eto'o crossed 30 league goals.
#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan is arguably one of the best players ever to grace the footballing pitch. He is a serial winner who has won in every country and every club he has played. However, his career at Barcelona ended on a somewhat frustrating note.
The Swedish international has a big ego, and he doesn't like someone getting the better of him. His war of words with Pep during their Barcelona days grabbed headlines across the continent. It all started after Pep's first season and treble-winning campaign with Barcelona.
Pep wanted to add more big names to his side, and so Zlatan was brought in from Inter Milan, with Eto'o going the other way. However, being shifted out wide for arguably the greatest player in history, Lionel Messi, didn't go down well with Ibrahimovic. He reportedly called Guardiola a coward with no guts.
Despite the animosity between the duo, Zlatan does consider Pep a great manager.
