5 players who fell out with Pep Guardiola

#3 Yaya Toure - former Barcelona & Manchester City player

Manchester City Trophy Parade

Coming in at #3 is another Manchester City legend, Yaya Toure. This fallout was one of the most controversial topics in world football back in the day, and included a public spat between Pep and Yaya Toure's agent, Dimitri Seluk. The Champions League-winning manager made it clear that the Ivory Coast international will not find a place in the City lineup unless he receives an apology.

The City legend issued a public apology on behalf of his agent, following which he was included in the Manchester City squad once again. This episode in the 2015/16 Premier League season would eventually culminate in Toure's departure from the Etihad in 2018, after spending 8 years at the club.

However, this was not the only time Toure fell out of favor under Pep, as he was also replaced by a young Sergio Busquets in the Barcelona lineup. The duo crossed paths once again at the Etihad seven years later, and history repeated itself as the Ivorian found himself on the bench once again.

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#2 Samuel Eto'o - former Barcelona player

Barcelona v Manchester United - UEFA Champions League Final

Speaking of public fallouts, we have Samuel Eto'o at the penultimate position on our list. The former Barcelona man played under Pep in the manager's debut season at Camp Nou. The former Cameroon international was at the peak of his powers back then, and his goal-scoring exploits helped Barca lift the treble in the 2008-09 season. One would imagine the successful pairing to grow from strength to strength, but Eto'o was sold the following season to Inter Milan.

Samuel Eto'o 🗣: "I can't compare Mourinho to Guardiola, one of them couldn't win the Champions league with Bayern Munich and the other one did it with FC Porto." pic.twitter.com/Sw9oIFbAxz

— BeeSports (@BeeSports_app) March 28, 2021

Speaking of Pep Guardiola, the Cameroonian remarked, "He didn't have the courage to tell me things to my face. I told him 'I'm Samuel Eto'o and I'm the one who makes you win. [Guardiola] was lecturing me on how to attack when he played as a midfielder."

He went on to say in the interview, "Xavi told me they wanted me to stay but I had to talk to Pep. I say 'Never, if you do not respect me, I do not respect you."

The Spaniard must have a little regret about his decision to let Eto'o leave as he won a treble with Inter Milan under one of Pep's adversaries, Jose Mourinho, in his debut season. Adding to this, Eto'o left for Inter in a deal involving €46 million plus the Cameroonian for Inter's star striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. That story follows.

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#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - former Barcelona player

Arsenal v Barcelona - UEFA Champions League

While Pep Guardiola achieved legendary status in his years as Barcelona boss, he left behind a host of disgruntled employees - none as prolific as Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede was brought into a technically gifted Barcelona team to add another dimension to the attack with his intimidating and towering presence in front of goal. The first half of the season went exceptionally well, but it all went downhill between Pep and the enigmatic Zlatan.

The 39-year wrote in his autobiography, "I yelled 'You have no balls!' at him and probably worse things than that. You are crapping yourself because of Jose Mourinho. You can go to hell!" The AC Milan forward went on to add, "The first months were going so well and then something happened and I still don't know what as I'm still waiting for the answer. After few months after [the start of the new year] the philosophy didn't speak to me anymore."

“I have nothing left to prove, there’s nothing else to do in my career but to have fun.I’m 39 & I play in the national team and Milan. Not many people my age can do that.” - Zlatan Ibrahimovic pic.twitter.com/97Gqf9erVq

— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) March 29, 2021

As history suggests, Pep Guardiola's tactical acumen is second to none, but one might argue he's not the best when it comes to man-management.