Page 137 - Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography

Pep’s second season in charge of the team was reaching its end and the moment arrived for
Ibrahimović and Guardiola to have a frank and honest conversation. It finally arrived before the final
league game. Pep called Ibra to his office. The atmosphere was very tense. Neither of them had
spoken since the day the Swede exploded at Villarreal. Guardiola sat edgy, rocking in his office

chair.
‘I don’t know what I want with you,’ he told Ibra. ‘It’s up to you and Mino [Mino Raiola, his
representative] what will happen next. I mean, you’re Ibrahimović, you’re not a lad who plays one
out of every three games, are you?’
The Swede didn’t say anything, he didn’t even move. But he understood the message perfectly: he
was being asked to leave. Pep kept talking nervously:

‘I don’t know what I want with you. What do you have to say? What’s your opinion?’
‘Is that all? Thank you.’
Ibrahimović left the office without saying another word.
That was the last contact between player and coach that season.
After the summer holidays another chat took place. Surprisingly, having calmed down during the

summer, Zlatan wanted another chance, failing to understand that bridges couldn’t be rebuilt and that
another striker, David Villa, had been brought in to replace him. He had been convinced that he was
part of one of the most admired clubs in the world. Worthwhile giving it a second go, then.
On the first day of pre-season, Ibra hadn’t even put his boots on when Pep called him to his office.
Once again, the situation was uncomfortable. According to Ibrahimović, the conversation went like
this:
Pep: How are you?

Ibra: Very well. Anxious.
P: You must be prepared to be on the bench.
I: I know. I understand.
P: As you’ll know, we have signed Villa.
I: Good, I’ll work even harder. I’ll work like an idiot to win a place in the team. I’ll convince you

that I’m good enough.
P: I know, but how are we going to continue?
I: As I said, with hard work. I’ll play in any position that you tell me. Up front or behind Messi.
Wherever. You decide.
P: But, how are we going to carry on?
I: I’ll play for Messi.
P: But, how are we going to carry on?
The striker didn’t think that it was a question of whether he was a good player or not: ‘It was

something personal. Instead of telling me that he couldn’t handle my character, he tried to conceal it in
that vague sentence. And so I decided: I will never play under Guardiola’s orders again.’
Ibrahimović didn’t understand anything that happened to him at Barcelona. Pep made a mistake in
signing him because he underestimated his strong personality and his high self-esteem. If someone
annoys Ibra, his reaction is intense and inescapable. If someone annoys Pep, the emotional connection

disappears and he treats the player like just another professional, nothing more. That relationship
could never go far.
When Pep was asking ‘How are we going to carry on?’ he was opening the door for Ibrahimović
who would have preferred a more direct approach.
When his last-minute transfer to Milan was in the balance, Ibrahimović took one Camp Nou vice-