RUTHLESS PEP

When Guardiola had taken over the reins at Barcelona in 2008, he had similarly presented a hard-faced approach. The celebrated manager had then made clear his disinterest in keeping stars such as Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto’o.

“These three are not in my mind for the future,” Guardiola said on his first day in charge. “In fact, we will be going onwards without them. It’s time for a restart.”

While Eto’o retained his place in the side for the season as he could not find a new club,

Pep Guardiola (below) stuck to his word and let him go at the end of the season, despite Eto’o finishing as the second highest scorer that season.