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Pep Guardiola is one of the best managers in the world right now. Aside from his tactics and style of play, he is also known for winning trophies everywhere he goes.
The Spaniard has also praised for bringing up young talent and moulding them into world class players and the likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Pedro and Leroy Sane are a few examples.
However, there are a few players who have a problem with him for supposedly damaging their careers. Here are five such footballers.
5. Dante
Dante and Jerome Boateng were turning out to be one of the deadliest defensive duos in the world. They conceded just 15 goals in the Bundesliga when they played together, and there were high hopes on them – especially after winning the treble under Jupp Heynckes.
However, when Pep Guardiola came in, he pushed Dante out of the team. Reason? He made a silly error in the Spaniard's first game in charge of the German side that lead to an own goal.
“He doesn’t speak to you so as a player you don’t know where you stand. Some coaches are world-class from a tactical point of view, but who aren’t good on a human level and this is the case with Guardiola,”
4. Alexander Hleb
Alexander Hleb was one of Guardiola's first-ever signings at Barcelona. The manager rarely used him during the first half of the season, and in March 2009, Hleb decided that he didn't want to rot on the bench at Camp Nou.
“I was always fighting with Guardiola. I didn’t use to listen to him, he would say to take Spanish classes to integrate myself into the team, but I wouldn’t do them.”
“[Pep and I] would shout at each other. He expected one thing from me, and I wouldn't do it and the way with which I would say ‘no’ was like a child. My judgment was clouded, and I ignored him.”
He was eventually loaned to Stuttgart, Birmingham City, and Wolfsburg before he joined Krylia Sovetov Samara on a permanent deal.
3. Yaya Toure
Yaya Toure was touted as one of the best defensive midfielders during his time at Olympiacos. Barcelona swooped in and signed him up, but a year later, when Guardiola arrived, he preferred to start Sergio Busquets in place of him.
That left the Ivorian feeling like an outcast, and he began to look for a move away from Camp Nou. Finally, when he got an offer from Manchester City, Guardiola decided to speak to him, but it was little too late, and Toure made the switch.
Six years later, the 'feud' continued at Etihad. Toure was abandoned from the squad by Guardiola on his arrival, indicating that there was still bad blood between the pair.
2. Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o has been one of the most outspoken footballers of all time. He has spoken his mind about everything and has made it clear that he dislikes Guardiola.
The manager was not willing to keep Eto'o at the club despite him being a vital member of the starting XI. The Cameroonian somehow kept his place in the team and impressed in Guardiola's first season too.
Despite all that, he was used in the deal to land Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the following summer. Eto'o and Guardiola came face-to-face again when Inter Milan took on Barcelona in the Champions League group stage.
"He shook hands with me when I was at Inter, and I played against Barca, but this was just for the cameras and TV. Behind the scenes before the match, he did not greet me."
Tim Hanlon, the author of the Barcelona book ‘A Catalan Dream’, wrote:
“Eto'o had been a key player for Barca, but he felt that he wasn't getting the praise he deserved. He famously came out with the quote that if he were called Etodinho, then he would have won the Ballon d’Or. Guardiola and Eto'o never had a particularly good relationship as Pep didn't like his outspoken personality, and that was the reason why he was sold.”
1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic couldn't stand Guardiola and the Swede's hatred for the Barcelona boss at the time are evident from the way he speaks about him.
"Guardiola was staring at me, and I lost it. I thought ‘there is my enemy, scratching his bald head!’. I yelled to him: ‘You have no balls!’ and probably worse things than that." "You are sh*tting yourself because of Jose Mourinho. You can go to hell!"
Ibrahimovic was one of the deadliest strikers when Barcelona signed him. Guardiola however, opted to play with Messi upfront in mid-season, and this did not go down well with Zlatan.
Speaking to Sky Italy, Zlatan said that the first few months at Barcelona were perfect, after which things began to go south.
"The next game I was on the bench. I don't say anything, I work. Second match bench again. I thought he solved it well and he was not talking to me or explaining. Third match bench. Then the fourth match comes and bench again."
"I think something is strange. From that moment he stopped talking to me, looking at me. I go into a room, and he walks out of it. He was not a bad person, but the most immature I've had because a man solves his problems."
Barcelona's former corporate vice-president Carles Vilarrubi, also confirmed that Zlatan forced them to sell him by threatening to hit the manager in front of the press.
"He threatened to beat Guardiola in public. He said 'if you do not let me go, I will paste him in front of the press'"
