EXCLUSIVE: Clarence Seedorf claims Pep Guardiola could leave Man City if they lose the Champions League final
Four-time Champions League winner Clarence Seedorf wonders whether Pep Guardiola could leave Manchester City if he fails to beat Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
When you think of the Champions League, one may picture the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi who share an incredible nine European titles between them.
But forget those immortals for a second, as one must look no further than Seedorf to capture the true essence of Champions League success.
The former Dutch midfielder made that famous trophy a tradition, tasting European glory four times over his illustrious career.
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While he is the only player in history to have won the competition with three separate teams: Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
However, despite establishing himself as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, Seedorf was also on the receiving end of some painful defeats.
On a famous night in Istanbul, AC Milan gave up a 3-0 lead against Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League final, losing on penalties in the most dramatic of circumstances. He told SPORTbible it was "Liverpool’s destiny" to win that day.
But 18 years on, Milan’s local rivals Inter are back in Istanbul in their bid to win a fourth Champions League title and deny Manchester City a historic treble in the process.
It remains the one trophy that evades Guardiola's City team, having come so close in 2021 when they lost to Chelsea 1-0 in the final.
While they blew a 5-3 aggregate lead against Real Madrid in last season's semi-final, with Guardiola desperate to break the Champions League curse.
When asked if the Spaniard may seek a new challenge if they beat Inter Milan on Saturday after winning every other piece of silverare available, Seedorf reckoned otherwise.
"I don’t think so," he told SPORTbible after being announced as a McDelivery Ambassador.
"I think that he would want to continue because it means that next season, you can win it again. Generally, We have seen teams that win repeat themselves to reach the final again."
However, should Guardiola fail to convert, Seedorf postulated that he may choose to leave his post as manager.
"The European cycle for City has already been going on," Seedorf continued. "They just haven’t converted it yet.
"So thinking about it like that, it might be a choice for him to say, 'okay this is the moment to leave and let somebody else come in'."
Nevertheless Seedorf stressed that even if City fall at the final hurdle, it should still be viewed as a "great season", having wrapped up the Premier League and FA Cup already.
"He’s in a good place," he added. "Great season - win or lose, still a great season. Hats off for what he’s done."
The former Netherlands international also provided an insight into the Inter players' personal motivations for the final.
"Captain Lautaro [Martinez], he's in great shape," Seedorf said with a smile, before pointing out Edin Dzeko's previous stint at the Etihad.
"Dzeko has been in great shape. Former Man City player, so think about his motivation as well personally. It is most likely his last season in Europe."
Seedorf also believes Romelu Lukaku’s troubled past with Manchester United and Chelsea could bring out the best in the striker, but suggested he will be benched for the contest.
"Lukaku, coming from the bench, so when he comes on having had this bad experience in England, he is really motivated," he added.
While he speculated that Inter would be willing to win the ugly way and that the game could be decided after normal time.
"Inter have the capacity to wait for you for 90 minutes if needed, patiently and with pleasure", he claimed. "That is why nobody likes to play against Italian teams generally."
City remain firm favourites to lift the Champions League trophy, following a stellar Premier League campaign which saw them pip Arsenal to their third successive title.
But for all of City’s brilliance, Seedorf was unwilling to name any of their players who might make it into AC Milan’s legendary team of 2005.
Instead, he waxed lyrical about his ex teammates, stating it was "one of the best teams you can put together in the history of football."
"It was not for nothing for six seven years we were dominating European football and the world." Seedorf continued.
"We had Cafu, [Jaap] Stam, [Alessandro] Nesta, [Paulo] Maldini. I mean, if you can put a better defence together than that it is really hard.
"Then we had [Andrea] Pirlo, myself, [Gennaro] Gattuso, Kaka, [Andriy] Shevchenko, [Hernan] Crespo, Dida. I mean, really? Each player by themselves was at an amazing level.
"Also Liverpool had a nice lineup. But that’s football right, sometimes you have a great team but you don’t win."
City will be hoping that is not the case for them on Saturday, as the Sky Blues hope to follow in the footsteps of Milan and cement their legacy as one of the greatest teams in history.
While Inter will do their utmost to outsmart their opponents and deny Guardiola his most wanted prize.
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Topics: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Liverpool, Pep Guardiola, Champions League, Man City
Joe Adams