Ex-Man Utd Ace Claims Pep Guardiola Should Have Replaced Retiring Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013
Pep Guardiola should have been in the running for the Manchester United job before they appointed David Moyes in the summer of 2013.
That is according to Jordi Cruyff, the son of Dutch legend Johan and former United midfielder, who told Sky Sports that the balance of power in Manchester could have been very different if the Red Devils had brought the Spaniard to Old Trafford.
Guardiola led United's fierce rivals Manchester City to the Premier League title this term by some distance, but Cruyff claimed that the 45-year-old may have achieved a similar outcome with United if they had selected him over Moyes.
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Moyes was brought in from Everton as Sir Alex Ferguson's successor after the legendary manager stepped down five seasons ago - around the same time that Guardiola move to take over at Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Cruyff said: "I've always felt, not now but before Guardiola went to Bayern Munich, I always felt there was a chance that Manchester United had the chance to go for it. I think there was a moment where things were lined up, it was there, but Man Utd chose someone else, I'm talking many years ago, and he took a different way.
"I think he would have suited a club like Man Utd many years before. I'm not talking this era, not now, I'm talking like five or six years ago I think. There was a moment where things were aligned, that was the moment, and United took a different path."
The Maccabi Tel-Aviv gaffer also explained why Guardiola didn't have to do much to turn City into league champions this season, with the structure already in place at the Etihad for the ex-Barcelona boss to concentrate on leading his side to trophy success rather than conduct an overhaul of the entire club.
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He added: "Everyone is talking about Man City, but people shouldn't forget that Guardiola kind of came to a warm bath. The main point for him was that for him at City there was Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, who worked with him at Barcelona in a successful period.
"So Guardiola came, the club knew his way of thinking, and he knew their way of thinking. Obviously they are on one line from the start. Guardiola arrived at a place where they both knew how things functioned."
"So Guardiola came, the club knew his way of thinking, and he knew their way of thinking. Obviously they are on one line from the start. Guardiola arrived at a place where they both knew how things functioned."
