Players who clashed with Guardiola as his fall out with Cancelo makes headlines

• Joao Cancelo is the latest high profile footballer to fall out with manager Pep Guardiola
• The turning point in Cancelo’s relationship with Guardiola took place in January 2023 after being left out in the FA Cup match against Arsenal
• The Portugal international spent the second half of the 2022-23 season at Bayern Munich and is currently at Barcelona on loan

Joao Cancelo joined the list of players who clashed with Guardiola when their fall out became public at the start of last year. The Athletic reported that the turning point in Cancelo’s relationship with manager Pep Guardiola took place in January 2023 after being left out in the FA Cup match against Arsenal. This was the third consecutive game that the Portuguese had been left on the sidelines by the City manager and he was not happy about it.

The fall out led to Cancelo being loaned out to Bayern Munich at the end of that month and spending the rest of the season playing for the German side. The 29-year-old was again loaned out last summer, this time to Barcelona where he’s currently playing.

Joao Cancelo and Pep Guardiola. Photo/ Goal.com.

Initially, there were reports that Cancelo was unhappy with Nathan Ake and Rico Lewis for getting more playing time than him at City. However, he has refuted those claims saying “Lies were told!”.

Cancelo isn’t the first player to fall out with manager Pep Guardiola. Over the years, there have been several players who have had issues with the Spanish manager dating back to when he started his coaching career at FC Barcelona. Here, we are going to take a look at players who clashed with Guardiola.

Samuel Eto’o 

When Guardiola took over as Barcelona’s manager, he made it clear that Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldinho and Deco were not on his plans. While Ronaldinho and Deco were sold, Eto’o remained at Barca for another season, playing a significant role in the treble win.

However, he didn’t get along with the young manager and eventually left the club, joining Inter Milan. Eto’o has publicly spoken about his animosity with Guardiola and even claimed that he had a much better relationship with Jose Mourinho and Luis Aragones.

Samuel Eto’o and Pep Guardiola. Photo/ Bleacher Report.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic 

One of the most controversial footballers, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a name that many fans are well familiar with. The Swede fell out with Guardiola shortly after joining Barcelona in 2009 and would later say “You bought a Ferrari but drive it like a Fiat”.

Ibrahimovic joined Barca at a time when Lionel Messi was on the rise, which led to him losing his central role to the Argentine and being forced to play on the wing. This tactical change by Guardiola didn’t go well with the former Swede who clearly showed his anger, especially after a Champions League match against Inter Milan which Barca lost.

As Ibrahimovic wrote in his book, he yelled at Guardiola and told him ‘You haven’t got any balls!’ This fall out led to Ibrahimovic leaving the club at the end of the season.

Pep Guardiola and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Photo/ Sky Sports.

Yaya Toure 

Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure played under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and Manchester City. The Spanish manager ignored Toure at Barcelona and did the same after finding him at City. While the presence of Xavi and Andres Iniesta may have been the reason why Guardiola benched Toure at Barcelona, he had no reason of leaving the midfielder on the sidelines at Manchester City because he found him as the key player there.

While speaking of Guardiola’s treatment of him, Toure accused the current City boss of ‘having problems with Africans’.

Joe Hart

Prior to the arrival of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, Joe Hart was one of the most important players at the club. He was a regular in the starting XI and played a significant role in City’s early success last decade.

However, Hart didn’t have the qualities that Guardiola wants in a goalkeeper, which led to him leaving the club. The English goalkeeper is currently playing for Scottish club Celtic and announced last month that he will be retiring from professional football at the end of the season.

Dante

Dante and Pep Guardiola. Photo/ BeSoccer.

Next on the list of players who clashed with Guardiola is former Bayern Munich player Dante. The Brazilian played for Bayern when Guardiola was the manager and things were never smooth between them.

“He doesn’t speak with you. As a player you don’t know what situation you’re in. There are coaches that from a tactical point of view are world class but on a human level they’re not so good. That is the case with Guardiola.” Dante said, as per Planet Football.