Cancelo joined Ibrahimovic or Touré. Who is on Pep Guardiola’s blacklist?

Pep Guardiola is one of the best coaches in the world. To make his team work, he has to arrange absolute order in the cabin and if anyone stands out from the crowd, the Spanish coach will immediately send them away from the club. The latest victim is João Cancelo, who else is on Guardiola’s blacklist?

Cancelo was one of Manchester City’s best players last season. Guardiola made him the dream “inverted fullback”, retreating from left-back to the centre of the pitch when playing the ball and the Portuguese filled that role perfectly.

But after the World Cup, there was a disagreement, an argument with the coach and Cancelo packed his bags and left for Munich very quickly. He became another victim of Guardiola’s blacklist.

The Barcelona duo

When Guardiola took over at Barcelona in 2008, the first players to leave the Camp Nou were superstars Ronaldinho and Deco. Although the Brazilian playmaker admitted after a while that Guardiola did not want him to leave, the Portuguese midfielder chose the opposite.

The Spanish coach didn’t want Deco, so he got rid of him. The Portuguese carried his bitterness on and after a few years said that “Guardiola didn’t invent anything, Mourinho is the best coach in the world.”

Samuel Eto’o

Guardiola wants versatile and obedient soldiers who are willing to follow his orders, he doesn’t tolerate big egos in the team, he demands total discipline. But Samuel Eto’o’s strong character didn’t fit that role.

He lasted only one season with Guardiola and even though he netted 30 goals in 36 games, the Cameroonian striker left for Inter after a year with the club in exchange for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, which didn’t go well either.

God Zlatan

If we are talking about strong character and ego with Eta’a, what else are we to say with Zlatan Ibrahimovic? The Swedish forward is probably the clearest example of the whole list. Ibrahimovic arrived at the Camp Nou in exchange for Eta’a, but lasted only a season in the Catalan capital.

His big character and ego didn’t fit in with Guardiola’s vision of football from the start, and so after a year Zlatan left for AC Milan. “Guardiola is the philosopher who destroyed my dream of playing for Barcelona,” Ibrahimovic later told the press.

Shaman Touré

Another well-known case is Yaya Touré. The Ivorian midfielder had to leave Barcelona in 2010 for Guardiola and went to Manchester City. There he became a leader and quite possibly the best midfielder in the Premier League, only that Guardiola ended this engagement as well.

In fact, when the Spanish coach arrived at the Etihad Stadium, the rift between the two flared up again and opened old wounds. “He’s a racist,” Touré accused the successful coach. At the Citizens under Guardiola, he gradually faded out of the line-up completely and left after two seasons.

Touré was so bitter about Guardiola’s behaviour that he reportedly asked an African shaman to send a curse on the Spaniard that would make it impossible for him to win the Champions League in the future. On the one hand, a rumour perhaps, on the other hand Guardiola hasn’t actually won the Champions League since leaving Barcelona and when you look at the way the Citizens have fallen out in recent years…

The latest victim

For now, the latest victim on Guardiola’s ‘blacklist’ is João Cancelo. Just last season he was still a back in the sky, but after the World Cup he lost his place in the starting line-up.

When he found out before the FA Cup game against Arsenal that he would not start from the start, Cancelo was supposed to be furious and according to The Athletic newspaper, there was a big argument where the Portuguese complained about the lack of game time. Guardiola didn’t want Cancelo in the team anymore and committed to his immediate departure.

Source: Transfermarkt, The Athletic