Pep Guardiola is set to become the new manager of Manchester City this season and he has already been busy making transfer plans for the summer. With Yaya Toure set to depart after this season, Guardiola has marked Toni Kroos as the ideal replacement for the Ivory Coast midfielder.
The Spanish manager knows Kroos very well having worked with him in his debut season at Bayern Munich in 2013/14. The German midfielder made a move to Real Madrid in 2014 although he had a very good relationship with Pep Guardiola.
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In fact, Guardiola did all that he could to keep the German midfielder at Bayern but a disagreement with the Bayern Munich directors over his new contract led to his transfer to Real Madrid. Kroos is currently very happy playing for Los Blancos, but a move to the Premier League and a chance to reunite with his old boss might tempt him away from the Spanish capital.
The German midfielder has a contract until 2020 at the Bernabeu where he earns €6 million per year. However, a move to Manchester City might see him increase his wages considerably. Rumours have suggested that Guardiola is also interested in getting Thiago to Manchester City and a midfield duo of Kroos and Thiago can take Manchester City to the next level.
Kroos’ style of calm and composed passing was praised by his national team manager Joachim Low. He said:
"How Toni distributes the ball, how he receives it, is very good. He's technically excellent ... He has made progress in the last few matches, I'm extremely satisfied with the player."
Messi’s retirement will cause Barcelona huge problems – Guardiola
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi has been absolutely vital for Barcelona’s stunning form in the last decade and former manager Pep Guardiola feels that Messi’s retirement will leave a huge void in the Barcelona team.
The Argentina star has scored 22 goals and set up 10 more in 25 league appearances this season to help the Blaugrana take a nine-point lead at the top of La Liga standings.
"When Leo Messi quits football there will probably be a huge sink-hole in Barcelona," Guardiola joked in an interview with RAC1 on Friday.
There won't be Trebles, but of course, if Barcelona keeps doing things well, they might be able to fight against Bayern Munich."
The Bayern Munich manager also praised Lionel Messi calling him the ideal pupil of the legendary late Johan Cruyff.
"Messi is the [Barcelona] player who runs the least and in that he was Cruyff's best pupil,"
