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Pep Guardiola claims Manchester United ‘can’t afford’ Bayern Munich players

By Andrew Coppens

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Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola will never be accused of holding back his opinion when asked for it. He was brutally honest while at the helm of Barcelona and he’s at it once again at the famed German champions.

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Ahead of opening 2014-15 Champions League play with a visit from Manchester City, Guardiola was asked about the other half of Manchester—where Manchester United reside and watch the Champions League from home for the first time in 19 years.

Guardiola has some ties to the Manchester club, with his former manager at Barcelona, Luis Van Gaal, at the helm of United currently.

Despite those ties and the lack of European soccer, don’t expect Guardiola to roll over for his friend when it comes to the transfer market though. After spending £150 million in the summer transfer window, Van Gaal was unable to lure any players away from Bayern Munich.

According to Guardiola it was because they couldn’t afford the best talent the German giants had.

“They didn’t have enough money,” Guardiola said, via The Telegraph in the UK. “I saw they spent a lot of money and it’s good for my friend Louis. It’s part of the game. All of the clubs in the world want the players of anther club, but it depends on the player. If the player wants to play he will play. If he wants to stay he will stay. Manchester wants these kinds of players.”

The fact that the Red Devils are home watching this tournament should serve as a lesson for the rest of the giants in European soccer according to a report in The Telegraph in the UK.

“It’s a good lesson for the big clubs,” Guardiola said when asked about United’s absence from this season’s Champions League. “They think ‘we are unbeatable and strong’ and they are not here and maybe the next season they are out.” 

It’s a lesson in humility that served as a double dose for Guardiola’s current side, as they were humiliated at home in a 4-0 two-legged defeat by eventual champions Real Madrid in last year’s Champions League semifinals.

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