Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola considered cancelling his appointment to manage the Manchester club because he could not find the right house to live in.
City had struck a deal for Guardiola to replace Manuel Pellegrini while the Spaniard was still in charge at Bayern.
Not up to two months after City had announced Guardiola as the new coach, club officials became worried that the Pep might want to back out as they were unable to provide to his specific requirements.
Guardiola had wanted to move into a city centre residence with his family, similar to the mansion they lived in Munich.
The story which is revealed in a book about Guardiola by Spanish Journalists, Pol Ballus and Lu Martin titled “In Pep’s City: The Making Of a Superteam”. It charts the former Barcelona boss’ journey at City.
The concerns first became apparent after David Quintana, City’s former player liaison manager, had been sent on a secret mission to Germany to help smooth Guardiola’s transition to Manchester.
In the book, Ballus and Martin write: “The problem was that Pep was refusing to live anywhere but the city centre and there just wasn’t the right kind of property there to suit him. It didn’t exist.”
At that stage, according to Ballus and Martin, Begiristain (City Director of football), thought City’s plans – which had been years in the making – were about to go “up in smoke”.
But Quintana had offered a solution that appeared to pacify Guardiola – and calmed Begiristain’s fears.
“I just told him, ‘No worries; if we have to, we’ll build you what you want. It might take a few more months, but we’ll make it happen’.”
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In the end, City did not need to build Guardiola a mansion and his living accommodation did not become the deal-breaker it was feared.
Guardiola instead moved into a luxurious apartment complex in Salford called City Suites and has been happy there since.
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