Barcelona sporting director Deco has revealed that the club has no plans to consider re-hiring Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola as manager.
The La Liga giants will be in the process of looking to appoint a new manager in the summer when Xavi leaves at the end of the season. The 44-year-old announced last month that he would be stepping down from his role as head coach at the Camp Nou, a position he has held since 2021.
The announcement has sparked conjecture about the potential next Barcelona manager. Guardiola has ties to the Catalan team even if he hasn’t been explicitly linked to the next opening.
Guardiola played for more than ten years at Camp Nou before taking over as manager of Barcelona for four years from 2008 to 2012. The 53-year-old manager of City has been at the Etihad Stadium since 2016 and has led the team to 16 major titles during that period. His current contract expires in 2025, but he has made indications that he may sign an extension.
Throughout their playing days at Barcelona, Deco and Guardiola never shared a pitch. The summer when Guardiola was named manager of Barcelona, 2008, saw the head of Barca leave Spain to join Chelsea.
Deco has discussed the prospect of Guardiola returning to Camp Nou, even though there aren’t any particular speculations linking him to the move. Deco gave his reasons for being so full of praise for the City manager while also implying that he had no intention of having Guardiola return to Barcelona for another stint as manager.
Deco, via Mundo Deportivo, told Esport3 that Pep is an excellent coach. “This is not being discussed. He led the greatest Barça team in history as their coach. Definitely.
“And he’s kept pulling ahead. Right now, he’s the finest in the world.
adjust to the club’s circumstances so that our young players can continue to grow.”
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