10 of the biggest transfer blunders made by Pep Guardiola

Guardiola is regarded by many as one of the greatest footballing minds of all time as the Spaniard has transformed a successful playing career into an even more successful managerial one.

The 47-year-old has won 22 trophies in two countries since taking over the reigns at Barcelona in 2008. The Catalonian is currently on the verge of winning the Premier League with Manchester City as his side hold a massive 16 point advantage over second-placed Manchester United.

However, Pep has made his fair share of mistakes during a decade-long stint as a football manager.

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#10 Ibrahim Afellay

Afellay's time at the Nou Camp was filled with injuries.

Pep decided to sign Afellay from PSV, where he had impressed during his 6-year stay at the Dutch club. The Dutchman had earned quite a name for himself thanks to his insane goal scoring skills in the training ground - videos of which went viral on Youtube.

So it came as no surprise when Pep decided to sign him for Barcelona during the winter transfer window in 2011. However, his time at the Catalan giants was blighted by injuries as he could manage just 28 appearances for the club - 18 of which came as a substitute.

Two loan moves to Schalke 04 and Olympiacos followed after which he was released by the club in 2015.

#9 Martin Caceres

Caceres' Barcelona spell was cut short by injuries.

Signed in 2008, Caceres was one of Guardiola's first signings at Barcelona but never really managed to cement his place in the starting eleven.

The Uruguayan international was signed for a fee of €16.5 million from Villarreal but was rarely used during his only season at the club.

Martin suffered multiple injuries during his time at the Nou Camp and even when fit, was hardly used by Pep during his short stint at the club.

Caceres managed just 23 appearances under the Catalan manager before being shipped out on loan to Juventus and Sevilla.

#8 Nolito

Nolito enjoyed a fruitful start in England but the weather was to harsh for the Spaniard.

The Spanish international arrived in Manchester without much fanfare as the Etihad Stadium-based outfit splashed a whopping £13.8 million to acquire his services.

The former Celta Vigo man was favored by Guardiola who had known him since 2008, but the friendship wasn't of much help to Nolito - who despite making a decent start to the season, just couldn't settle in the North of England.

English weather affected the Spaniard as a slump in form ended his time at Manchester pre-maturely and he was sold to Sevilla after just one year in England.

#7 Jose Manuel Pinto

Pinto's mistakes made him a figure of fun for opposition fans

Pinto was already at the club when Guardiola took over but the manager decided to make the deal permanent, trusting the stopper's decade-long solid performances at Celta Vigo. The Spaniard was tasked with backing up first-choice keeper Victor Valdes.

However, Pinto could hardly ever challenge Valdes as he committed error after error. Things became worse when opposition fans started mocking the veteran stopper due to a number of horrendous mistakes.

The former Barca man retired from football 2014 and has turned rapper under the name 'Pinto Wahin'.

#6 Keirrison

Keirrison arrived with much fanfare but ultimately left after five years and zero appearance for the Cules.

Keirrison signed for Barcelona in the summer of 2009 from Palmeiras as the Catalan side spent €14 million to sign the unknown Brazilian.

Although many would blame the club hierarchy for this debacle, the fact is that it was Pep who was in charge of signing youth talent. Shortly after arriving in Barcelona, Keirrison publicly claimed that he hoped to become a starter under the Catalan manager, but was soon shipped off on loan to Benfica.

The disastrous signing was loaned out four more times before being released by Barcelona - having failed to make a single appearance for the club.

#5 Dmytro Chygrynskiy

Identified as Puyol's long-term replacement, Chygrynskiy could hardly maintain fitness.

Chygrynskiy arrived in Catalunya with much fanfare as he was brought in as the long-term replacement for skipper Carles Puyol.

The giant centre-back also became the first Ukranian player to sign for the Camp Nou outfit with Pep having spent a huge sum of £18.75m on the youngster.

However, things didn't go according to plan as Chygrynskiy failed to live up to expectations. The Ukranian struggled for fitness and even the aging Puyol was in better shape than the former Shakhtar star.

#4 Claudio Bravo

Claudio Bravo replaced fan favorite Joe Hart at the Etihad Stadium but ended up being a back-up.

Bravo signed for Pep Guardiola's Manchester City from Barcelona in the summer of 2016 for a fee of £17m but things quickly turned sour for the Chile international as he committed an error in the game against fierce rivals Manchester United in a 2-1 win.

Bravo was then sent-off on his return to the Nou Camp in a UEFA Champions League tie for handling the ball outside the penalty area, which resulted in City losing the game 4-0. The Chilean was quickly dropped from the first team.

He finished the season with a 54.1% save success ratio, the lowest among all goalkeepers in the Premier League.

#3 Cesc Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas had to fight for a place in the starting XI, this ultimately led to his departure

This one might sound a little ridiculous at first but actually makes sense when you dig deeper. The Spain international was a product of La Masia (Barcelona's youth academy) but left for Arsenal in 2003.

In 2011, Guardiola decided that it was time for Cesc's homecoming as he spent €29 million to sign him. Things looked good initially but then reality struck as Fabregas had to compete with a number of world class players for a place in the starting eleven.

Lionel Messi among others was Pep's first-choice starter which led to limited playing time for Fab. After three less-than-impressive seasons, he left Catalunya for a return to the Premier League with London giants Chelsea happy to land the majestic mid-fielder.

#2 Mario Gotze

Germany's World Cup hero was a flop at Bayern despite his immense talent and Pep's tutelage.

Mario Gotze arrived at Bayern Munich in a controversial transfer from one of their biggest rivals Borussia Dortmund in 2013 and big things were expected of the German.

The star of the 2014 World Cup final had a harsh time in Bavaria as he struggled for fitness. Constant injuries meant that he could never really break into the first-team.

The 25-year-old failed to live up to the hype and was shipped back to Dortmund in 2016. One can only imagine what could have been had the talented German settled at the Allianz Arena.

#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic enjoyed a stellar season at Nou Camp but a tussle with Guardiola led to him leaving the club after just one season.

The Swedish superstar was at the peak of his powers when Pep decided to bring him to the Nou Camp from Inter Milan in 2009.

The deal saw Barca splash £52.13m in cash and part with Samuel Eto'o to land the towering striker and Ibra didn't disappoint as he had a fantastic start with the Blaugrana, scoring a goal in each of his first five league games, setting a new record.

However, things quickly turned sour as Guardiola and Messi 'supposedly' colluded to oust the Swede from the team. Pep restricted the giant Swede's game time and mid-way through the season, the two collided.

Zlatan scored 22 goals in 46 appearances for Barcelona before being shipped off to AC Milan at the end of the season. He has since made his hatred for Pep public, going as far as calling him a 'coward.