Pep Guardiola: “Door closed” on a Barcelona return

• Pep Guardiola has stated that there is no chance of ever going back to his former club, Barcelona.
• In addition, he denied any responsibility in influencing the Barcelona board to fire Xavi.
• There have been rumors that Guardiola may retire from the Premier League when his current Manchester City contract expires in 2025.

Pep Guardiola has stated that there is no chance of ever going back to his former club, Barcelona. In addition, he denied any responsibility for Xavi’s departure while speaking at the Legend Trophy golf event in Alt Emporda, Catalonia.

Guardiola in the past has ruled out managing the Blaugrana again, but within the last year has said that ‘if Barcelona call, I will go’. Asked about it again, he was very clear saying, “Yes, the door is closed. I’am getting old now.”

There have been rumors that Guardiola may retire from the Premier League when his current Manchester City contract expires in 2025. It has been suggested that he might play for several national teams, including Brazil, England, and the USA; however, it doesn’t appear like he will play for Barcelona.

Pep Guardiola together with Xavi in a previous match. Photo/ ESPN

Fans of the team have been dreaming of the day Guardiola will rejoin them since he left Barcelona in 2012, but the man himself has crushed their dreams, stating he has no desire to go back to the team where he began his playing and managing careers.

He reiterated that he had no involvement in Xavi Hernandez’s abrupt exit from Barcelona, which was another highlight of the discussion.

Guardiola stated emphatically that he had no control over Barcelona’s board’s decision to abruptly reverse course about Xavi, saying, “Whatever happened to Xavi is not my fault.”

That being said, Guardiola has never been implicated with overtly pressuring the Barcelona board to fire Xavi.

In reference to Xavi being likened to the high bar set by Guardiola personally during Joan Laporta’s first tenure at Barcelona, the Manchester City coach, who just led his club to a fourth consecutive Premier League title, made this statement.

Guardiola made it clear that there were no analogies drawn between him and Xavi, and as a result, he had no involvement in the player’s decision to leave Barça.

Thomas Tuchel ‘not interested’ in United position

Thomas Tuchel has been linked to a managerial position at Manchester United Photo/ Eurosport.

It is anticipated that Thomas Tuchel, who is leaving Bayern Munich, would take a little hiatus from the game after expressing no interest in becoming manager of Manchester United.

Given that Erik ten Hag’s job at Old Trafford is reportedly in jeopardy, Tuchel has been mentioned as a serious contender to take his place.

Although the board is debating Ten Hag’s status in light of the club’s worst league result in 34 years, Ten Hag guided Manchester United to FA Cup glory after defeating Manchester City in last month’s final.

Ineos, the club’s new minority owners who are in control of football operations, have given the Dutchman their complete support, and he has stated that he expects an announcement about his future shortly.

Tuchel is a desirable candidate to take Ten Hag’s place due to his experience managing elite teams and his availability, but Fabrizio Romano has disclosed that the German wants to take a summer sabbatical from coaching.

Tuchel is a desirable candidate to take Ten Hag’s place due to his experience managing elite teams and his availability, but Fabrizio Romano has disclosed that the German wants to take a summer sabbatical from coaching.

With one year remaining on his contract, Ten Hag is still the manager of United, but the longer the evaluation continues, the more likely it is that it will cause him anxiety.

Though an eighth-place Premier League result and a miserable European campaign have raised questions about the 54-year-old’s status, he guided United to FA Cup victory last month to win his second important trophy.