Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has refused to rule out a future return to Barcelona, stressing that the club has given him everything both as a player and as a coach. However, the former Barcelona manager believes that younger coaches will emerge who will be eager to take on the job, just as excited as he was in his time.
Guardiola's glittering career at Barcelona as player and coach
Guardiola’s story at Barcelona is marked by two remarkable chapters that highlight his influence as both a player and a coach. As a player, he came through La Masia and became the key midfielder in Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team. Playing as a deep lying playmaker, he controlled the tempo, kept the ball moving, and started attacks with calmness and intelligence. His sharp reading of the game and understanding of space made him the ideal player for Cruyff’s style. During his years at the club, he won six La Liga titles, the 1992 European Cup and several domestic trophies.
When he stepped into the first team coach role in 2008, Guardiola took Barcelona to a new level. He improved the club’s positional play, brought in intense pressing, and moved Lionel Messi into the false nine role, which changed modern attacking football. He also trusted young players, giving opportunities to Sergio Busquets and Pedro who became important parts of the team. In four seasons, he won 14 trophies, including two Champions League titles and three La Liga titles, and left a style of football that still guides Barcelona and influences the world game.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesGuardiola refuses to rule out a return to Barcelona
In an interview to Spanish outlet , Guardiola emphasised that the club have given him everything both as a player and as a coach and for this reason he refuses to rule out a return to Barcelona. “I am not ruling out Barca,” he said.
However, he also noted that there are younger coaches who would feel the same excitement he once did about taking the job. “Life is about stages and right now there are surely young coaches who have the same excitement I had for them at that time,” he added.
Barca face upheaval as election nears
Barcelona are heading toward a pivotal presidential election in 2026, scheduled to take place between March and May, with Joan Laporta set to seek re-election. His main challenger will be Victor Font, who has returned to the political scene with a renewed campaign and a strong message of reform. Font has gained significant momentum after receiving public backing from Xavi Hernandez. The former Barcelona coach attended Font’s campaign launch alongside several club dignitaries and ex-players, signalling a clear divide within the Barcelona community.
Font has openly criticised Laporta’s administration, accusing the club of hiding €80 million (£67m/$87m) in financial losses and questioning the transparency of the board’s decisions. He has also taken aim at Laporta’s handling of the Camp Nou renovation, particularly the decision to award the project’s renewal to Turkish company Limak despite strong internal disagreement and concerns raised by members of the club’s management.
With Laporta defending his legacy and Font positioning himself as the candidate of structural change, Barcelona’s 2026 elections are shaping up to be a contest that could shape the long-term sporting and financial direction of the club.
Guardiola weighed in on the elections believing that opposition to Laporta highlights a strong democratic system when he said “‘That's why Barça is the biggest club in the world. We can do this here.”
He added “Barca is a living club; everyone has their say. Everyone wants to be its president, play for it and manage it.”
AFPGuardiola hits 1,000 milestone
Since leaving Barcelona, Guardiola has gone on to manage German giants Bayern Munich and English club City, where he remains to this day. City’s 3–0 win over Liverpool marked his 1,000th match as a manager. The 54-year-old former Barcelona and Spain midfielder has won 716 of those games, collecting numerous honours at every club he has coached.
When asked to pick which game he remembers the most, Guardiola said: “I don't know which one to choose… From my time at Barca, there's the 2-6 at Madrid in the first league. There's also the second Champions League final [3-1 win vs Manchester United].
“With City, I'd go for the semi-final against Madrid at home, which was the high point of this decade.”
City are set to take on Newcastle United when club football resumes after the international break, while Hansi Flick's team will finally play their first game at Camp Nou in over two years when they take on Athletic Club.
