Getafe president scenes revealed: We agreed to lead the team with Guardiola, but Barcelona ruined it for us!
- Getafe president Angel Torres confirmed the club's attempts to sign Pep Guardiola, the current Manchester City coach.
- Torres explained, "I spoke to Txiki Begiristain, Barcelona's sporting director then, and I told him we would sign Guardiola.
- He added that Petr Čech encouraged him to talk to Guardiola and his brother, who acted as his agent.
Getafe president Angel Torres confirmed the club’s attempts to sign Pep Guardiola, the current Manchester City coach. In a press interview with Marca, Torres revealed that in 2008, they reached an agreement to bring Guardiola on board. At that time, Guardiola was coaching Barcelona’s reserve team.
Torres explained, “I spoke to Txiki Begiristain, Barcelona’s sporting director then, and I told him we would sign Guardiola. He didn’t mind.”
He added that Petr Čech encouraged him to talk to Guardiola and his brother, who acted as his agent. They met in the VIP lounge at Barajas airport. Guardiola agreed to manage Getafe.
Torres noted that Barcelona wanted to replace coach Frank Rijkaard due to poor results. They planned to appoint Michael Laudrup. However, after sacking Rijkaard, Barcelona chose Guardiola instead, despite Guardiola being ready to join Getafe.
Guardiola went on to achieve great success at Barcelona from 2008 to 2012. He won 14 titles, including three Spanish League titles, two Spanish King’s Cups, and three Spanish Supercups. In Europe, Guardiola won the Champions League twice, along with two European Super Cups and the Club World Cup.