If you’re Barcelona manager, then one of the last things you’ll ever want to be asked about is Pep Guardiola.
The Manchester City manager is a Barca legend and even since his move to the Bundesliga and then the Premier League he’s been huge news in the Catalan media.
Everything Guardiola does at Manchester City is covered and analysed and there are still many followers of the Blaugrana who dream about their former manager returning to the Camp Nou one day.
When it comes to questions on Guardiola, the last one a Barcelona manager would want to answer is about politics, with the manager a well known supporter of Catalan independence.
Given all of that it’s no surprise Ernesto Valverde’s immediate response was “Madre mía!” when he was today asked, at a Champions League press conference, if Guardiola’s future will be as a coach or as a politician.
Valverde answered in the only sensible way, with Mundo Deportivo quoting him as saying: “At a preview of a game… I completely ignore it. He is a great coach, a world reference. I imagine he will continue training, but I do not get into his head.”
For football reasons, and press conference reasons, Valverde no doubt hopes his side don’t draw Manchester City later in the competition.
