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#2 Pep Guardiola & Thiago Alcantara (Barcelona & Bayern Munich)
Thiago can possibly thank Pep Guardiola for his wonderful career. At just 18 years of age, the Spanish midfielder made his debut for the Barcelona first team and became an integral member of Pep's football revolution at the Nou Camp over the following four seasons.
Guardiola had worked his way through the food chain at Barcelona, managing the Barcelona B team before getting his opportunity as first-team manager in 2008. Similarly, Thiago had worked his way through the Barcelona system, playing for the Barcelona C and B teams before making his full debut in 2009.
Perhaps it was this connection, with both men working hard to reach the top, which has led to the strong connection between the Spaniards. Over the course of four seasons under Guardiola at Barcelona, Thiago made a total of 68 appearances, scoring seven times, and winning multiple trophies.
However, by 2012, Pep had burned out and decided to take a year away from football. Thiago remained at Barcelona, playing an important role in helping the Catalans reclaim the Spanish league title during the 2012/13 season.
In January 2013, it was announced that Guardiola would return to football management, taking over German champions, Bayern Munich. He was officially unveiled as the Bayern coach on June 24th, 2013, and less than a month later had signed Thiago from Barcelona for €25 million.
The pair once again enjoyed huge success together winning three consecutive Bundesliga titles, two DFB Pokals, and the Fifa Club World Cup. However, a longterm injury meant that Thiago missed most of the 2014/15 title-winning season. Regardless, he played 67 times under Pep at the Bavarian club.
Guardiola left Bayern in 2016 to join Manchester City while Thiago remains an important player for the German champions. However, the pair may once again reunite as reports state that the City boss has been given the green light to sign Thiago once again for a fee of around €70 million.
