Pep Guardiola was hours away from Premier League transfer but snubbed move after being ‘shocked by style of play’

PEP GUARDIOLA almost started his journey with Manchester City decades ago as he came close to joining the club as a player.

The Spaniard spent most of his career at Barcelona having come through the La Masia Academy.

Guardiola, 53, left the LaLiga giants in 2001 as he moved to Italy and had spells with Brescia and Roma.

The midfielder then moved to Al-Ahli but left the Qatari outfit in 2005 and was looking for a new challenge.

Football agent Tony Sharkey was asked to find Guardiola a club in the Premier League for him to have a trial.

The agent took him to Manchester City to watch a game against West Brom, however, Guardiola rejected the opportunity due to the direct style of play.

Sharkey said in the BBC documentary Pep Guardiola: Chasing Perfection: “I first met Pep when he was getting off a plane at Manchester airport.

“He looked like a Spanish tourist, in really relaxed clothes.

“I’d been asked by a Spanish agent to find a Premier League club for him to go on trial – he was 34 and serious about coming here.

“Then we went to watch the home game against West Brom, I was squirming a bit because it was quite a direct game.

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“David James was launching it for flick-ons and knockdowns.

“It wasn’t a great advert for the PL.”

Guardiola instead opted to sign for Dorados in Mexico.

Oasis star and Manchester City super fan, Noel Gallagher added: “He ended up Mexico – that’s how s**t we were at the time.”

Guardiola would end up at the Citizens but as a manager when he landed the job at the Etihad in 2016.

He has enjoyed enormous success at the club, having won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, a Champions League and a Club World Cup.

Watch Pep Guardiola: Chasing Perfection on BBC One and iPlayer at 22:40 on Wednesday 24 January.

Listeners can delve deeper with an accompanying four-part podcast series on BBC Sounds, presented by Steve Crossman and Guillem Balagiue by searching Sporting Giants.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk