Published 19:16 IST, October 29th 2019
Man City: Pep Guardiola was believed to be out of City's sights
In a new book, it has been revealed that Man City management feared that they lost out on Guardiola when they failed to meet his residency demands in 2016
Advertisement
Manchester City almost lost the opportunity to have Pep Guardiola as the club’s manager way back in February 2016. Man City had struck a deal for Pep Guardiola to succeed Manuel Pellegrini while the Spaniard was in charge of Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. But less than two months after Man City had announced in February 2016 that Guardiola would take charge, officials at the club became concerned that the former Barcelona coach might back out. Pep Guardiola wanted to move into a city centre residence in Manchester with his family that bore comparison to the mansion they spent three years living in Munich.
Manchester City: These details were revealed in a book
But with Manchester unable to provide anything to match those specific requirements, Man City’s top brass became increasingly concerned that Guardiola was going to have a change of heart and walk away from their agreement. These details were revealed in a new book titled Pep's City: The Making of a Superteam - written by Pol Ballus and Lu Martin. Ballus and Martin tell of how Etihad Director of football Txiki Begiristain told player liaison manager of the time, David Quintana, to hold crunch talks in Munich with Guardiola over the situation.
The problem was that Pep was refusing to live anywhere but the City Centre and there just wasn't the right property there to suit him. The Guardiola family eventually moved to a luxurious apartment in the Deansgate City Suites in the centre of Manchester. They were soon joined in the plush building by his first signing Ilkay Gundogan. Talismanic striker Sergio Aguero has also been tempted in by the true city slicker lifestyle. The Argentine is understood to have swapped his countryside pad to become one of the first residents of the brand new West Tower in the city centre Deansgate development. During his time at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola has won consecutive Premier League titles along with other domestic acclodes to his name. He aims to win the much acclaimed UEFA Champions League with this Man City team.
18:40 IST, October 29th 2019