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According to El Nacional, Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique were the main culprits behind Pep Guardiola’s departure from Barcelona in 2012.
The Spaniard was promoted to become first-team manager in 2008 after spending a year with the Barcelona B squad. In the four years that followed, Guardiola created arguably the best-ever Barcelona team.
Barcelona won two Champions League titles and three La Liga titles by the time Guardiola parted ways with the Catalan giants in 2012. The reason for his departure was long understood to be fatigue. He spent a season away from football before returning to management with Bayern Munich.
Regardless, Sandro Rosell, who was the president at the time Pep Guardiola left, claimed that his departure came as a result of dressing room problems:
“It has been explained by active and passive Guardiola and the players, that it was a clash between Guardiola and the players. A problem that was in the locker room.”
According to the report, Madrid-Barcelona.com named Pique and Messi as the main culprits behind Guardiola's departure. Both players even considered leaving the club if the Spaniard continued as the manager.
Pep Guardiola will be itching to add to his Champions League tally with Manchester City
The fact remains that Pep Guardiola hasn't won the Champions League as a manager since his tenure with Barcelona. The coach is considered to be one of the best of all time, and is truly one of the great pioneers of tiki-taka football.
However, at Barcelona, he had a superlative team that was brimming with confidence and talent. Lionel Messi was at his scintillating best during that time. Meanwhile, the midfield trio of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets were arguably the best in the world.
What’s more, the defensive partnership between Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique was also highly-rated. Hence, fans might argue that any world-class coach would have been able to achieve great things with that Barcelona squad.
Guardiola has so far failed to achieve the same kind of success in the Champions League at Bayern Munich and Manchester City. This despite being given a considerable war chest at both clubs.
He reached the semi-finals last season with Manchester City, only to be beaten by Real Madrid. He also reached the final in the 2020-21 season but failed to beat Chelsea.
Almost 10 years after his Barcelona departure, Guardiola will once again be hoping of Champions League success next season. His brand and quality of football has never been questioned. Manchester City are one of the best teams in Europe and the squad has only gotten better this time around.
Erling Haaland’s addition gives the Sky Blues an air of invincibility. City lacked a proper centre-forward last season, but still managed to score 99 goals in the Premier League.
Haaland registered a staggering 85 goals and 22 assists in 88 matches for Borussia Dortmund. He is considered to be one of the players capable of winning the Ballon d’Or after the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo era.
Things haven't gone as planned for Pep Guardiola in Europe's biggest competition since his departure from Barcelona. However, he will look to replicate his domestic success, which has seen him lift four league titles in five years, at the biggest stage in Europe.
