5 big name players who were axed by Pep Guardiola

#3 Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho was kept on the bench by the manager which eventually saw him leave the club

Ronaldinho had joined Barcelona in 2003 for about €30 million following two impressive seasons at Paris Saint-Germain. The two-time FIFA Player of the Year then spent five seasons with the Catalans where he took them back to the top by winning the UEFA Champions League in a stunning fashion.

But as Pep Guardiola joined the club at the start of 2008/09 season, Ronaldinho faced a lengthy spell on the sidelines as he was prone to injuries.

In his first few interviews as the manager, Guardiola made it obvious that he would eventually off-load several first-team players who did not fit into his plans and style-of-play at Camp Nou and one of these players was the Brazilian.

The charismatic Ronaldinho was forced out of the club in the summer transfer window in 2008 when he was sold to AC Milan after Barcelona’s club president Joan Laporta had said that the Brazilian needed a “new challenge” to revive his career.

Ronaldinho turned out to be the first of many players who were sold by Guardiola as the likes of Deco, Zambrotta, Giovani dos Santos and Samuel Eto’o also left the club.