Pep Guardiola sidesteps Jerome Boateng transfer rumor to Barcelona

PORTLAND, Ore. — Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola briefly addressed rumors surrounding Jérôme Boateng's potential move to FC Barcelona on Monday. At a press

Liviu Bird | Aug 4, 2014

Pep Guardiola sidesteps Jerome Boateng transfer rumor to Barcelona /

PORTLAND, Ore. — Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola briefly addressed rumors surrounding Jérôme Boateng's potential move to FC Barcelona on Monday. At a press conference before Wednesday's Major League Soccer All-Star game, the former Barça boss addressed the question quickly and sternly.

"Normally, I don't speak about rumors in the newspapers," Guardiola said in German. "I do not know what the media say."

Pressed further, Guardiola said Boateng is "100 percent" a part of his plans for the upcoming season, despite a number of reports in the Spanish and German press that Barcelona has made him its top transfer priority to strengthen the back line.

Barcelona wants to secure another defender to allow new manager Luis Enrique to implement a tactical system with three center backs. If Guardiola is to be believed, Boateng won't be Barça's man.

The German World Cup contingent is in transit to the West Coast, where it will play a limited role vs. the MLS All-Stars on Wednesday. None of the players, including Boateng, has trained yet following a three-week break.

Published Aug 4, 2014

LIVIU BIRD

Liviu Bird is a soccer analyst with more than 20 years of experience in the game. He learned how to play in the streets of Romania before moving to the soccer wilderness of Fairbanks, Alaska, escaping to play collegiately as a goalkeeper at Highline Community College and Seattle Pacific University, where he also earned his B.A. in journalism. Bird played semiprofessionally and had tryouts at professional clubs but hung up his gloves in 2012 to focus on writing and coaching at the youth and collegiate levels. He joined Sports Illustrated in March 2013 as a freelance contributor and has also written for NBC Sports, Soccer Wire, The New York Times, American Soccer Now and the Telegraph (UK).