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Guardiola Rules Out Barca Return

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has insisted that he will never return to Barcelona as his former club begin their search for a new coach for next season.
The Spanish tactician took charge at City last summer, and while there have been some lows and setbacks along the way, he is on course to enjoy a solid first campaign at the helm of a Premier League club.
With the top four firmly in their sights, City remain in the hunt for the FA Cup after reaching the semi-finals stage while they will also hope to get past Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
In turn, he can be pleased with what he has achieved to this point as the club are only expected to get bigger and better under his stewardship the longer that he stays as he’ll undoubtedly be a busy man in the summer transfer window to further mould this side in to his own.
Nevertheless, the appeal of a return to Barcelona could have been strong for the former Blaugrana boss, but he insists that that chapter in his managerial career is over.
“Never again,” Guardiola said, as reported by The Mirror. “My period at Barcelona is over.”
Having enjoyed a trophy-laden spell in charge of the Catalan giants between 2008 and 2012, he will always be fondly remembered at the Nou Camp having also shone as a player to establish his legacy at the club.
With Luis Enrique confirming earlier this month that he would be stepping down from his position as coach at the end of the season, the search is on for Barca to find a suitable replacement.
Having prioritised individuals who know how the club works from the inside, there doesn’t appear to be a standout candidate this time round and Guardiola removing himself from the equation will only make it a more difficult decision.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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