Man United and Chelsea both made last-ditch attempts to snatch Pep Guardiola from Man City

PEP GUARDIOLA snubbed last-minute attempts from Manchester United and Chelsea to hijack his move to Manchester City.

KEPT HIS WORD: Guardiola had long agreed to join City

 

United and Chelsea both spoke to Guardiola’s representatives to try and convince him to join.

But the Spaniard kept his word and has agreed a three-year contract to take charge of City in the summer.

United denied reports they had met Guardiola in a Paris hotel recently.

But Sir Alex Ferguson did meet Guardiola in New York back in September 2012 to sound him out on taking over from him at Old Trafford.

Despite their claims to the contrary, United are thought to have recently tried again with Louis van Gaal walking a tightrope.

 

City sources also confirmed they tried to get Guardiola in 2012 when Roberto Mancini was their manager.

But Guardiola insisted on seeing out the sabbatical year he had taken after leaving Barcelona.

He then announced he was joining Bayern Munich but City have remained patient and have finally landed their man.

Guardiola’s friendship with City’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano was crucial in his decision to move to the Etihad.

 

He and Begiristain played in the Barcelona dream team of the early 1990s and he got to know former Barcelona director Soriano when he was coach of Barca’s B team.

While City confirmation of football’s worst-kept secret was no real surprise, the timing has come as a shock.

It was expected to be announced at the end of the season but it has been done now in a bid to be fair to Pellegrini and prevent speculation from undermining the club’s bid for an unprecedented quadruple.

City are in the final of the Capital One Cup, the fifth round of the FA Cup, the last 16 of the Champions League and are only three points off the top of the Premier League.