Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Football, Neymar, Bayern Munich
Nasir Jabbar
Topics: Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Football, Neymar, Bayern Munich
Pep Guardiola called a superstar player at 2am and told him he'd make him 'the best player in the world' but the transfer never happened.
Guardiola has managed some of the very best players in world football, including Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi to name but a few.
He coached Messi, Iniesta and Xavi during his illustrious Barcelona spell.
Guardiola left Barca for Bayern Munich, where he worked with the likes of Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski and Phillip Lahm, among others.
At Bayern, he tried to sign Neymar and went to great lengths in his pursuit of the star forward.
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According to the player himself, Guardiola rang Neymar at 2am in a desperate plea to secure his services.
He told him he'd make him 'the best player in the world' as he put forward a strong case to sign the Brazilian.
Neymar revealed: "I almost went to Bayern... because of Pep Guardiola. After I won the Puskas Award, my dad kept calling me at 2AM. I answered, he told me to open the door... I was in boxers. It was my dad, Pep Guardiola and the translator!
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"Pep told me: 'I want to sign you and bring you with me, to whatever club I go to. I will make you the best player in the world'.
"He shows me a paper, opens his laptop, tells me where I’d play… Pep also said: 'if you don’t score 60 goals in a season, I’ll change my name'.
"I was saying... 'okay, but what team?' Pep said: 'I can’t tell you yet because it’s not out yet'. I convinced him, he said: 'I’m signing with Bayern. I know it was a cold city but I will take care of you'.
"In the end I decided to join Barcelona."
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Like Neymar alluded to about his transfer to Barca, he snubbed a move to Germany by signing for the Catalan giants, where he enjoyed four seasons before switching to Paris Saint-Germain.