Pep Guardiola will be returning to the Camp Nou with his Manchester City side in the Champions League this week, but his father does not believe that he will be back to lead the team as manager again in his career.
Valentí Guardiola, the manager's father, believes that going back over old ground is not on the agenda for his son, who prefers to keep moving forward and taking on new challenges.
Speaking to Spanish radio station Cadena Ser's sports show El Larguero, Guardiola Sr. said he believed that his son had already spent several years managing the team, and would be unlikely to go back there in any capacity.
"Return to Barça? Why? To be a ball boy?," asked his father. "The truth is that I can’t see him as president or on the bench again. I think returning for a second spell would not turn out well for him, so you can rule him out of managing Barcelona again."
When asked if he would instead end up coaching the Spanish national side, Valentí had a sharp intake of breath, a slight pause, and was fairly clear that he doesn't really see that one happening either.
However, he did state that he believes his son would be interested in perhaps coaching the Catalan national team, which is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA, and therefore would mean that he would not be guiding them to the World Cup or the European Championships.
"I would say the Catalan team, maybe, but the Spanish team? I can’t see it," said Valentí. "But I don’t know what he will do, it's not up to me to say what he has to do."
With his son facing his former team on Wednesday at the Camp Nou, Valenti stated that there would be no split loyalties, and he would be supporting Pep and Manchester City.
"Pep is good wherever he goes," said Valentí. "In Germany he was good too, they loved him there, and now at City he's entered through the front door."
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