Robben: I Won’t Follow Guardiola To City

Carlo Ancelotti-who won the Decima with Real Madrid-will replace the ex-Barcelona coach at the Allianz Arena, while Guardiola will be charged with improving Manuel Pellegrini’s underperforming charges at Eastlands.

“But he knows that Barcelona are my club and it’s his club as well”. Not with me and not with other players either.

“No, he didn’t ask me to join him on his way to Manchester City”, Robben told Metro.

It looks unlikely that the 34-year-old will be returning to the Theatre of Dreams, and Guardiola is eager to hand him a two-year contract.

City took part in the same competition last summer in Australia and are tied into the terms of the deal.

With his connections to Barcelona, it makes an easy story to link him with players within Luis Enrique’s current squad and it’s even easier for the media when players such as Sergio Busquets provide soundbites for them to run off with.

Busquets was a favorite of Guardiola during the Manager’s Barcelona days and his emergence as a strong and reliable first-term performer benefited City directly as it led to Yaya Toure being deemed surplus to requirements.

Pep Guardiola will hopefully be that final piece, which allows for a prosperous and sustainable future both on and off the pitch, and I am quietly confident that his arrival will help Manchester City fulfil their true potential in all areas of the game, both domestically and in the Champions League. But the challenge for Guardiola isn’t winning – it’s lifting City to that status as a perennial powerhouse, both at home and on the continent.