Guardiola is doing just fine in Manchester. He feels respected by the club, the fans and his players. He has no plans to go anywhere and it was feared that he would leave football altogether after his time at City.

Pep is a Barça fan and is aware of the ongoing turmoil at the club, but he will not return to the Catalan giants. He has been saying this for years and did not appreciate Laporta’s advances at such a critical time as it left Guardiola “between a rock and a hard place”.

Laporta does not know where to turn. He is considering many different names, including those Guardiola personally recommended: Mikel Arteta of Arsenal, Míchel of Girona (and close to his brother Pere Guardiola) and De Zerbi, the current Brighton manager.

No one should expect to see Guardiola in the Barcelona dugout for the time being…