Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola spent three successful years in the Bundesliga and was immensely popular with the club’s hierarchy, with Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge saying Pep Guardiola reduced him to tears when he told him he wanted to leave the club in 2015.
Guardiola spent three seasons with Bayern, winning three Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokals, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup until the Catalan eventually decided he needed to seek a new challenge, hence moving to the Etihad in 2016.
Rummenigge shared insights on his special relationship with the Spaniard, saying they enjoyed “a real friendship” and that he became emotional when he heard Pep wanted out of Bayern Munich to seek something new and fresh.
Rummenigge told Bild:
“One evening I will always remember: In November 2015, at a meal together, he told me that he had to leave the club. He needed a new challenge. Pep played with open cards from the start. It was an emotional evening; he cried, I also shed tears. That was memorable for me.”
Rummenigge shared on how the pair spent many an evening drinking wine together.
“Pep, today you had better leave your car behind and get yourself taken home,” he recalled. “He is totally reliable, a great person with whom you can have great fun.
“Pep and I text each other, he’s not a fan of WhatsApp. We wrote to each other on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, we are in regular contact. A real friendship has developed.”
Former captain Philipp Lahm has also opened up on similar memories of the City boss, having enjoyed a late-career renaissance under Guardiola, after being moved from his customary right-back spot into midfield.
“He sharpens the understanding of each individual player for his position and makes it clear how the whole team should play,” Lahm said. “In the autumn of my career, that was definitely the ideal discussion for me.”
Guardiola had been hotly linked with a return to Bayern when Niko Kovac was sacked midway through last season, but remained at City while the Munich giants appointed eventual treble winner Hansi Flick.
The Catalan coach turns 50 on Monday, having recently signed a new contract to extend his successful stay at the Etihad.