Real reason why Pep Guardiola refused to sign Cristiano Ronaldo ‘revealed’ in new book

Real reason why Pep Guardiola refused to sign Cristiano Ronaldo ‘revealed’ in new book

Published 14:02 15 Aug 2024 GMT+1

Real reason why Pep Guardiola refused to sign Cristiano Ronaldo ‘revealed’ in new book

Pep Guardiola managed Lionel Messi but not Cristiano Ronaldo.

Marcus Chan

Marcus Chan

The reason why Pep Guardiola opted against signing Cristiano Ronaldo has been revealed.

Portuguese superstar Ronaldo will go down in history as one of the best players to ever grace a football pitch.

Throughout his career, the 39-year-old has played for the likes of Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.

Despite being in the latter stages of his career, Ronaldo is still going strong and scoring goals for Saudi Professional League side Al Nassr.

However, before securing a move to the Middle East, it was revealed that Ronaldo offered himself to Manchester City but Guardiola opted against signing him.

As reported by the Daily Mail, an exclusive extract from a new book detailing Guardiola’s time as City boss revealed that Ronaldo offered himself to the club last summer.

The extract stated: “He offered himself to City last summer but Pep wasn’t interested. There’s no question at all that Guardiola respects his immense ability to finish chances as well as his superb physical condition, but how could this type of player fit into the precision machine the Catalan has painstakingly and strategically built at City?

“Thanks but no thanks, Cristiano. Not even after City’s attempt to sign Harry Kane and buy an outright centre forward ended in failure.”

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City began their 24/25 season last weekend when they beat rivals United in the FA Community Shield final at Wembley.

Guardiola’s men won via a penalty shootout after the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Speaking after the match, the scorer of the winning penalty, Manuel Akanji said: “We got the better side of it. It’s the first trophy of the season so it gives us confidence.

“It’s my first Community Shield so I’m really happy that we won it.”

The Swiss added: “It wasn’t an easy game – in the end it came to penalties, and they aren’t easy.

“It’s a great start to the season and I’m really happy about it. We came here and we showed up.”