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Pep Guardiola took over as manager of Manchester City in 2016, putting Manchester United, the club’s local rival, in a state of “genuine shock.” Manchester United believed that they were on the verge of reaching an agreement with Guardiola to become their new manager.
Following his decision to take over as manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola left Manchester United in a state of “genuine shock.” He had previously rejected a transfer to Old Trafford.
In February of 2016, it was announced that Guardiola would be taking over as manager of Manchester City from Manuel Pellegrini for the next season. This marked the beginning of a new dynasty that has resulted in City eventually winning the Champions League, six Premier League championships, two FA Cups, and four League Cups.
After Sir Alex Ferguson’s victory with United in 1999, they became only the second English team to achieve the feat of winning a continental triple in 2023. This achievement is noteworthy since it was accomplished by them. In spite of this, it has just come to light that Manchester United was quite certain that they would be able to acquire Guardiola in 2016, rather than City.
Carlo Ancelotti was instantly appointed as Guardiola’s replacement after the Spaniard made the announcement in December 2015 that he would be departing Bayern Munich at the conclusion of the season. Guardiola’s future became a major topic of discussion for the remainder of the season.According to the recently published book States of Play, United were in discussions with Guardiola’s team on the possibility of him taking over for Louis van Gaal, and they believed that a deal was quite close to being reached. According to the allegations, United thought that their “history and stature” would be more advantageous than the more lucrative contract offer made by City.
Guardiola, on the other hand, finally signed with City, and United came to the conclusion that they should have appointed Jose Mourinho, his lifelong nemesis, as their new manager instead. In the past, Ferguson has revealed that he desired for Guardiola to take over as manager of Old Trafford once he completed his retirement in 2013.
In his book, titled “Leading,” which was published in 2015, Ferguson recounted the following occurrence: “I had dinner with Pep Guardiola in New York in 2012, but I was unable to make him any direct proposal because retirement was not on my agenda at that point.”
“He had previously won an impressive amount of titles with Barcelona… and I had a great deal of respect for him. I reached out to Pep and requested that he contact me prior to accepting an offer from another club; however, he did not do so and ended up signing with Bayern Munich in July of 2013.In 2017, when Guardiola was questioned about the meeting with Ferguson, he responded by saying that he did not recall the particular request. “If he suggested to me something like to go to Old Trafford, I don’t remember,” Guardiola stated. “I don’t remember what he suggested.”
“I am aware that he has stated it, but I am unable to recall it. We spoke about life, football, and the Premier League, but he never gave me a message beneath the table to suggest anything like, “you know maybe United…” or something along those lines.
