Pep Guardiola is widely acknowledged as being one of the best football managers of all time for the countless trophies he’s won with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City – but that doesn’t mean he’s not made a few truly bizarre signings during his coaching career.
Guardiola has led teams that have dominated on both the domestic and European stage ever since he took his first steps into management, replacing Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona’s helm in the summer of 2008.
But for all of Guardiola’s success at Barca, Bayern and City, the 51-year-old hasn’t mastered the art of tiki-taka on a shoestring budget.
The two-time Champions League-winning coach is no stranger to searching for reinforcements in the transfer market. And the beauty of steering the ship at elite clubs in top leagues is that Guardiola has often acquired the creme de la creme of players.
But for all yer Bernardo Silvas, yer Xabi Alonsos and yer Thiago Alcantaras, some of the former Spain international’s signings over the last 14 years have left everyone scratching their heads.
We’ve ranked his 13 weirdest – not necessarily the worst – signings he’s made throughout his career.
13. Douglas Luiz
Luiz signed for Man City in July 2017 as a 19-year-old from Brazilian side Vasco De Gama but it all went wrong when City came up against the Home Office. Denial of a work permit saw the midfielder spend his two seasons as a City player turning out for Girona.
After making not a single City appearance, he was sold to Aston Villa in 2019 for £15million… and was immediately granted a work permit.
“[Luiz is] a guy who’s clever with the ball, he’s so physical and strong,” Guardiola said about the 23-year-old in April 2021. “He’s a lovely guy, unfortunately when he came, due to the work permit, he could not play.”
The Premier League titans had a buy-back clause inserted into the deal when they sold Luiz to Villa. But that option ran out in June 2021, so it looks like…