MANCHESTER CITY almost failed to secure Pep Guardiola as manager after struggling to meet his luxury accommodation demands, a book revealed.
Guardiola wrapped up his fifth Premier League title in May after inspiring his City stars to an incredible run of form to overhaul Arsenal.
The ex-Barca boss then watched his side defeat Manchester United 2-1 in the FA Cup Final at Wembley.
They capped off a remarkable and historic season to secure the Treble, by defeating Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final.
But the extraordinary spell of success he has had might never have happened due to the coach’s specific living requests.
Guardiola agreed to succeed Manuel Pellegrini in February 2016 but Etihad officials were left sweating on whether he may change his mind before the following season.
In a book entitled Pep’s City: The Making of a Superteam – written by Pol Ballus and Lu Martin – club chiefs were worried the then-Bayern Munich manager would go back on his word.
Ballus and Martin tell of how Etihad director of football Txiki Begiristain told player liaison manager David Quintana to hold crunch talks in Munich with Guardiola over the situation.
Begiristain had said ominously: “It seems we’ve got a problem with the German.”
And in the book, Ballus and Martin confirm: “They did indeed. In Munich, the Guardiola family had lived in a spacious mansion on Sophienstrasse.
“Pep demanded accommodation of a similar standard in Manchester and the issue was in danger of becoming a deal-breaker.
“Quintana and Pep met over a leisurely three-hour lunch in a local Vietnamese restaurant.
“Lunch was spent discussing key elements of the club’s organisation, infrastructure, players, but the issues around the Guardiolas’ new home remained unsolved.
“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.
“It didn’t exist. Begiristain could see all his plans going up in smoke. The deal to bring Pep to City was under threat.”
The in-demand ex-Barcelona manager was assured by Quintana, however: “No worries; if we have to, we’ll build you what you want. It might take a few more months but we’ll make it happen.”
The Guardiolas eventually moved to a luxurious apartment in the Deansgate City Suites in the centre of Manchester.
And they were soon joined in the plush building by his first signing Ilkay Gundogan – who scored the fastest goal in FA Cup Final history before departing for Barcelona in the summer.
City legend Sergio Aguero was also tempted in by the true city slicker lifestyle at the time.
The Argentine swapped his countryside pad to become one of the first residents of the brand new West Tower in the city centre Deansgate development.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
