It’s a door that is closed – Pep Guardiola rejects Barcelona’s return

Barcelona’s former coach Pep Guardiola has rejected his comeback to the club. Guardiola’s contract with Manchester City expires in June 2025 but he is not looking to return to the Catalan club after his tenure with the Sky Blues.

The veteran Spaniard recently led the Cityzens to their fourth consecutive Premier League title. In the last eight years, Guardiola has helped Manchester City clinch six PL trophies.

Meanwhile, Guardiola guided Barca to 14 trophies during his four-year stint with the club.

When asked if he could make a return to his former club, “It’s a door that is closed.”

“The Barça bench is one of the most complicated because you have to manage many cases. In Manchester everything we do remains inside and at Barça, everything comes out,” he said.

Xavi Hernandez, Barcelona’s former coach, recently said that it is a difficult club to coach as the expectations are always lofty.

Barca has replaced Xavi with Hansi Flick after the team went trophy-less in the recently concluded season. Xavi was often compared with Pep Guardiola during his tenure after being appointed as the head coach back in November 2021.

Guardiola said of those comparisons: “What is certain is that it’s not my fault. That’s for sure. I’ve been 11 or 12 years away from Barcelona. I’m not a suspect in that sense. Ask that to those that have made the comparisons, I haven’t. I wish Xavi the best in finding a new challenge.”

Guardiola wished Hansi Flick all the best for his upcoming assignment.

“I wish him the best of luck in the world,” Guardiola said.

“When you arrive at a new club you always need help. You have to try to get help from within and have total support. You have to go little by little. You can’t be champion in September or October.

“Hansi is an extraordinary person, who has a lot of desire. A lot. But he needs his time. What he did at Bayern was extraordinary, he won everything.”