According to Mundo Deportivo, Manchester City were one of four teams ‘trying to convince’ Lazar Carevic, a 19-year-old shot stopper who was then playing for OFK Grbalj in Montenegro, to sign for them.
Ajax, Bayern Munich and Barcelona were the other three clubs involved in the battle, but the goalkeeper narrowed his choice of trials down to two: the Germans and the Catalans.
A fan of the latter, keeping the Bundesliga option open was mostly down to Manuel Neuer, his idol, playing there, where he trained under Pep Guardiola, who was still manager at the time.
Eventually, Carevic decided on moving to Barcelona in 2017, where he is now a member of their B team, playing two games this season, and yet to concede a goal.
This all appears to have happened before the Spaniard left Bayern to take over at the Etihad, meaning he might have been a Txiki Begiristain target rather than Guardiola’s personal choice at Manchester City.
Carevic was one of 100 young footballers nominated for the European Golden Boy this year, with the winner expected to be announced in the next month or so.
