Barcelona great Albert Ferrer never saw what one Manchester City hero has achieved at the Etihad Stadium coming.
The former defender came through the youth ranks at La Masia and made his first of over 200 senior appearances just a few months before Pep Guardiola made his first team bow at the Camp Nou.
Guardiola has gone on to enjoy a remarkable career in football since, both on the pitch and, even more significantly, off it.
The Manchester City manager will almost certainly go down as one of the best managers of all time thanks to all the trophies he has won and the way he has revolutionised the sport.
Ferrer used to be a roommate of Guardiola during their playing days at Barcelona and, though there were signs, he never expected him to have the success he has enjoyed in management.
Albert Ferrer didn’t expect Pep Guardiola’s success
Ferrer told the Daily Star on his relationship with Guardiola: “I debuted in 1990, and half a season later Pep Guardiola came up… So, my relationship, my closest relationship was with Guillermo Amor and Pep Guardiola.
“I shared a room with Pep for a couple of seasons, so we spent a lot of time together. We played the Olympics for Spain together in 1992, winning the gold medal, so I had a good relationship with him.
“I’ve got a great affinity with Pep. At that time, we didn’t really imagine he’d be the manager he is now, but you could feel something, especially when he was playing in the middle of the pitch and wanted to be in charge of things.
“But yes, I had a good a good relationship with him.”
Is Pep Guardiola the best manager ever?
Guardiola has won everything there is to win in every country he has ever managed. In just his first season in the dugout, he claimed a historic treble at Barcelona.
His Barca side of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and so many more will go down as one of the greatest to ever grace the field yet his work hardly stopped there.
The 53-year-old won another Champions League in Catalonia before enjoying unrivalled domestic success in Germany at Bayern Munich and then moving to City.
In Manchester, the £378k-a-week coach has claimed five of a possible seven league titles and last season secured yet another treble triumph.
If he isn’t the best and most influential manager of all time, then who is? Sir Alex Ferguson’s success and Sir Matt Busby’s remarkable achievements at Manchester United make them contenders.
There is the success of Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti as well as the revolutionising genius of Johan Cruyff, Helenio Herrera, Arrigo Sacchi, Rinus Michels and many others.
But Guardiola probably tops them all.
