Barcelona News: Samuel Eto'o lifts lid on how he feels about Pep Guardiola

What's the story?

Former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o has admitted that while he admires his former boss Pep Guardiola as a coach, he is not too fond of him as a person.

In case you didn't know...

Eto'o has not always been eulogistic in his assessment of Guardiola, despite having worked under the Manchester City manager during their time at Barcelona.

The former Cameroonian striker played an integral role as the Catalan giants secured a treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League in the 2008-09 season, scoring a goal in the European final that saw the Blaugrana beat Manchester United 2-0.

The 38-year-old has often vocalised his discontentment with his relationship with Guardiola and it is believed that tensions intensified after the Spaniard sold him to Inter Milan as part of a swap deal that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic move to the Camp Nou.

At Inter, Eto'o thrived under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho and helped the Italian giants to the treble, even eliminating his former club in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

The heart of the matter

Speaking at the Aspire Academy Global Summit on Football Performance and Science in Doha, Eto'o named Luis Aragonés as the best coach he worked with in his career. He said via AS,

"The best coach I had? Each one is special. It is not easy to choose one, but if I have to choose one, it’s Luis [Aragonés]."

"While I was a player at Mallorca, I had a talk in his office that changed my life. He said that I had done everything at Mallorca and told me to go another club to see what my real level was. At that moment I thought: "But what is this old man saying?

"Luis had a lot of personality, but I knew how to play with that personality… He was like a father. It would be a great honour be a coach like him."

The former Barcelona striker also addressed his relationship with Guardiola by saying,

"I love him as a coach, but not as a person. I learned to play football with him. I interpreted him better than anyone."

What's next?

The fifth edition of the Aspire Academy Global Summit on Football Performance and Science is scheduled to continue on October 9th, with several football personalities believed to be in attendance.