Pep Guardiola hasn’t wasted any time in providing the world with a talking point at Manchester City, after dropping Joe Hart for City’s first two competitive games under his management. Willy Caballero replaced the England goalkeeper for the two games, with his ball control and his ability with his feet as the main reasons behind the swap. Hart has allegedly been told that he can leave the club and he wouldn’t be the first big name to have been told ‘Adios’ by Pep Guardiola. Let’s have a look at some of the others:
Ronaldinho
The Brazilian star became the best player in the world at Barcelona under previous manager Frank Rijkaard, helping them to win two league titles and the 2006 Champions League. Guardiola and then-Barcelona president Joan Laporta decided that his time at the club was coming to an end and he was eventually shipped off to Milan. Ronaldinho later said that he was upset at leaving Barcelona, especially as he enjoyed playing alongside a young Lionel Messi.
Deco
The Portuguese midfielder was another favourite under Rijkaard, but Guardiola believed that he was preventing some of Barcelona’s academy hopefuls from progressing to the first team. Deco was told that he was free to leave and became Luiz Felipe Scolari’s first signing for Chelsea.
Yaya Toure
Toure could be in a similar position now as he was back in 2010. He played under Guardiola for two years, helping them to great success, but was later told that he was free to leave. Toure moved to Manchester City and was a key member of Mancini’s team. He’s shown over the last couple of seasons that his powers could be dwindling and he’s yet to feature under Pep for City. He’s been left out of both squads, not even featuring on the bench.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The great Swedish striker famously fell out with Pep in his one season at Barcelona. Zlatan later described him as a “spineless coward” and also said that they didn’t speak to each other in the dressing room. Ibrahimovic felt that he was always playing second fiddle to Messi in his time at the Camp Nou.
Samuel Eto’o
Eto’o suffered with injuries in the season prior to Guardiola’s appointment at Barcelona and the Spaniard wanted to sell him in his first summer. There was a lack of interest however and Pep eventually kept him. Eto’o went on to score 36 goals in 52 appearances that season, including one in the Champions League final but by the end of the season, Barcelona had made clear that they wanted Ibrahimovic and Eto’o was swapped in exchange for the Swede.
Gianluca Zambrotta
The Italian defender was a regular for two years under Rijkaard at Barcelona, but was ageing by the time that Guardiola took over. Pep replaced him with Dani Alves who went on to have a glittering career at the Camp Nou, whilst Zambrotta was deemed surplus to requirements and left in 2008.
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Schweinsteiger played under Guardiola for two seasons, before departing in 2015 after 17 years in Munich. Injuries caught up with the great midfielder though and Pep said before he was sold that he wasn’t fit enough to play more than 15 games in a season. Schweinsteiger reunited with former boss Louis Van Gaal for a year at Manchester United, but Pep was right and injuries continued to plague him. 12 months on and Jose Mourinho has banished him from the first team squad.
