In this Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015 file photo, Bayern head coach Pep Guardiola arrives for the German Bundesliga soccer match between Hannover 96 and FC Bayern Munich in Hannover, Germany. Pep Guardiola says he wants to coach in the English Premier League when he leaves Bayern Munich at the end of this season. PHOTO/AP/Yahoo!
BERLIN, March 8 – Pep Guardiola promised to focus solely on Bayern Munich in his final months in charge, but he apparently met the sporting director of future employers Manchester City in Amsterdam on Monday.
Clad in a grey winter hat, thick sweater and carrying a rucksack, the 45-year-old Guardiola looked like a tourist as he was photographed entering a luxury hotel in Amsterdam on Monday morning.
British tabloid The Mirror and Dutch newspaper Telegraaf both claim Guardiola met City’s director Txiki Begiristain, who was also photographed in Amsterdam on Monday, for two hours to discuss possible transfers.
Guardiola is reported to have defender Jetro Willems, 21, of PSV Eindhoven and 19-year-old midfielder Riechedly Bazoer from Ajax Amsterdam on his wish list of future City players.
Begiristain and Guardiola are good friends, who worked together at Barcelona.
This is not the first time Guardiola is reported to have jetted off from Munich to meet with key City figures.
German magazine Sport Bild claimed he flew to England with his brother Pere shortly after announcing in February that he will coach City next season.
Having won five titles so far in Germany as he approaches the end of his third and final season in Munich, Guardiola’s Bayern is still in the running to repeat the club’s 2013 triple of Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup titles.
The Bavarian giants are five points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, with nine games left in Germany’s top flight, and are on course to become the first club to win four consecutive German league titles.
