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Pep Guardiola has successfully established himself as one of the best tacticians of his generation. The former Barcelona stalwart effortlessly transitioned from a world-class midfielder to a masterful coach in the late 2000s. Known for his peculiar style of football, Guardiola is famous for using a preferred set of players, explaining his sky-high expenditure.
Pep Guardiola has spent some serious amounts of cash on certain players
After taking over as Manchester City boss, the Spaniard basically received a blank chequebook to buy whomsoever he fancies. Pep Guardiola has done exactly that, spending more than a billion euros on transfers in the past five seasons. To put things in perspective, 12 of his 13 most expensive signings have come at the Etihad Stadium.
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Pep Guardiola's latest recruit, Jack Grealish, is his costliest transfer to date. The Englishman was purchased for a record-breaking fee of €117.5m. Apart from the numerous defensive signings including Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, and Joao Cancelo, Pep Guardiola has also spent a lot on offensive players. Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Barcelona is his second most expensive transfer of all time.
There are bound to be some big-name departures, with so many incomings under the watchful eye of the Catalan. On that note, let's take a look at 5 superstars who were sold by Pep Guardiola:
#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona to AC Milan)
The aforementioned Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the few proven stars to have been brought by Pep Guardiola and then dispatched later by the Spaniard himself. Ibrahimovic moved to Camp Nou in the summer of 2009 in one of the most high-profile transfers ever (more on it later).
Having signed a bumper five-year deal with the Blaugrana, Ibrahimovic was initially the focal point of a very potent Barcelona attack. Pep Guardiola soon shifted the big Swede to the flank to accommodate the upcoming Lionel Messi.
Ibrahimovic was subsequently dumped out on loan to AC Milan the very next season due to differences with his manager. While Pep Guardiola has stayed silent on the matter, the erratic forward has been very vocal about his spat with the Catalan. Ibrahimovic is back with AC Milan at the ripe old age of 39.
#4 Thierry Henry (Barcelona to New York Red Bulls)
Another elite forward who was exiled from the riches of Camp Nou on the orders of Pep Guardiola, Thierry Henry, had joined Barcelona prior to the Spaniard's arrival. Citing his dream of playing for the Blaugrana at the time of his departure from Arsenal, Henry signed a four-year deal with the club.
Initially, the Frenchman was an integral part of Pep Guardiola's legendary sextuple-winning squad. He was part of a deadly trio, containing Samuel Eto'o, Messi, and Henry himself. However, the emergence of La Masia graduate Pedro, restricted the reliable attacker to just 15 league appearances.
In 2010, having lost his place in the first team, Henry was sold to New York Red Bulls on a free transfer. While Pep Guardiola moved on from the Frenchman in no time, the 33-year-old's career spiraled down soon after. He retired in 2015 at the age of 38.
Also read: Most valuable Premier League XI at the moment (September 2021)
#3 Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich to Real Madrid)
The first non-Barcelona player on the list to have been sold by Pep Guardiola, Toni Kroos was a highly-rated product of the Bayern Munich academy. The German orchestrator spent seven years contracted to the Bayern first-team before being offloaded to Real Madrid in 2014.
In Pep Guardiola's first season at the Allianz Stadium, Toni Kross was a vital player in midfield. He played a whopping 51 matches in the 2013-14 season, scoring four times and laying out a further 9 assists.
However, that season proved to be his first as well as last under Pep Guardiola. Due to contractual disputes, Kroos was sold to Real Madrid for a nominal fee of €25m with Xabi Alonso going in the other direction. The footballing world has been left guessing of what Guardiola could've made out of the German maestro.
#2 Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona to Inter)
Part of the previously-mentioned swap deal between Barcelona and Inter, Samuel Eto'o was used as a bargaining chip in Ibrahimovic's transfer to Camp Nou. The Cameroonian was dumped at the door of Inter by Pep Guardiola, along with a bucketload of cash in 2010.
Prior to his controversial move to Italy, Eto'o was a monumental figure in Barcelona. He used to wreak havoc in opposition defences with the Catalans, scoring a mind-boggling 130 goals in just 199 appearances.
This astonishing feat didn't stop Pep Guardiola from sending the veteran striker away after just one season. The deal cost Barcelona close to €70m with the club acquiring the services of Ibrahimovic. Eto'o had the last laugh though, going on to win the treble with Inter in his first season.
#1 Ronaldinho (Barcelona to AC Milan)
Surprisingly, Ronaldinho was one of the players who was ousted from the club following Pep Guardiola's appointment. Along with Deco, the Brazilian dribbler was deemed surplus to requirements by the Spanish manager, even before the 2008-09 season began.
Stating Ronaldinho's lenient disciplinary and fitness issues as his motivation to show him the door, Pep Guardiola boldly axed the team's star man to assert his authority. The creative maestro was Barcelona's talisman for multiple seasons before his departure to AC Milan.
As Guardiola went on to win the elusive sextuple in his maiden campaign, nobody ever questioned his decision to sack a 28-year-old Ronaldinho. While the Spaniard masterminded the most successful period in the club's history in the following years, the Brazilian saw his stock plummet after his exit from Catalonia.
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