Barcelona president Joan Laporta reveals incredible UCL promise he made to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said that he and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola have promised to meet each other in next season's UEFA Champions League final.
The two European heavyweights had contrasting European campaigns. Guardiola's City won the Champions League for the first time, winning the continental treble.
Meanwhile, Barcelona crashed out of Europe's elite club competition in the group stage and entered the Europa League knockout playoffs. The Blaugrana, though, lost 4-3 on aggregate by Manchester United.
Barca president Laporta seems eager for the club to bounce back and test the reigning European champions next year. He says that he and Guardiola have come to a promise over clashing in next season's final at Wembley (via centregoals):
“Pep and I promised each other that we will meet in the Champions League final next season."
Manchester City romped to the Champions League trophy in style. They went the entire European campaign unbeaten, securing wins against RB Leipzig (8-1), Bayern Munich (4-1) and Real Madrid (5-1) en route to the final.
Guardiola's treble winners then beat Inter Milan 1-0 in the final at the Ataturk Stadium on June 10. The Spaniard will look to win the competition again next season, but Barcelona could be potential dark horses.
Manager Xavier Hernandez has returned the Blaugrana back to the top of Spanish football, guiding them to their first La Liga title since 2019. They're expected to bolster their squad this summer but did miss out on re-signing Lionel Messi.
Guardiola admits Barcelona and Manchester City are clashing over Ilkay Gundogan
Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan becomes a free agent at the end of the month, and Barcelona are keen on signing him.
Guardiola has acknowledged Barca's interest in the German who played a key role in City's treble triumph in the recently concluded season (via ESPN):
"We are interested in renewing his contract, and (Barcelona) are also interested. I hope he stays with us. We are still fighting for him to stay with us. He is a player we want to stay -- and we will do all we can -- but we know Barca want him."
The former Blaugrana boss then lavished praise on the 32-year-old amid a potential move to the Camp Nou:
"If Barca sign him, they will have a spectacular footballer on their hands. I am aware Xavi has called him a lot. If, in the end, he picks Barca, I will tell him he will enjoy himself."
Gundogan was a standout performer for the Cityzens in the 2022-23 season, bagging 11 goals and seven assists in 51 games across competitions. The Manchester City captain netted a memorable brace in his side's 2-1 FA Cup final win against Manchester United, including the fastest goal in the title match.