Barcelona President Met With Man City Manager Pep Guardiola
As per a report from Gerard Romero, Barcelona president Joan Laporta held a meeting with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola in Catalonia on Sunday night.
The two are understood to have shared a table with family and friends at a restaurant in Barcelona as part of their celebrations of the titles won by their respective clubs in the 2022/23 campaign.
Barça won the La Liga title and the Spanish Super Cup this past season while Manchester City completed the historic treble by lifting the Premier League title, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League, the latter for the first time ever in their history.
Given Guardiola’s close ties with Laporta and Barcelona, it is not surprising to see the two celebrate their mutual success together.
However, at the same time, one cannot help but wonder if there were any transfer discussions held between the Manchester City manager and the Barcelona president.
It is no secret that the La Liga champions hold a strong interest in City outcast Joao Cancelo and are pushing for a loan move for the Portuguese international. However, the European champions wish to offload him permanently, leading to a standoff.
Meanwhile, Bernardo Silva is also a player that is well-liked by Barcelona, although a move for him looks very difficult at this point, due to finances and the interest from PSG.
Soon-to-be free agent Ilkay Gundogan, the captain of Manchester City, is a top target for the Blaugrana this summer. Despite the Cityzens’ efforts to renew his contract, the Catalan heavyweights are confident of his signing, having tabled a three-year contract offer.
It remains to be seen if Barcelona are successful in signing any of the three players and whether Laporta did try and speak to Guardiola about the transfers during their meeting in Catalonia.
