Guardiola insists he did not push Ronaldinho out of Barca

Joe Williams

Ronaldinho and Pep Guardiola: Played under Pep at Barcelona

Pep Guardiola has revealed that Ronaldinho wanted to leave Barcelona for AC Milan and confirmed he didn’t kick the Brazilian out of the door.

The Manchester City boss is widely thought to have sold Ronaldinho to stop his party lifestyle rubbing off on the emerging talent of Lionel Messi.

The former Brazil international joined the Spanish side from Paris Saint-Germain in 2003 and had three successful campaigns at the Camp Nou.

On an individual level he won the Ballon d’Or in 2005 as well as two FIFA Player of the Year awards, while Barcelona won two La Liga titles and a Champions League trophy.

A couple of poor seasons were to follow after a disappointing 2006 World Cup and he was sold in 2008 with reports claiming his lifestyle was affecting his play.

However, Guardiola has claimed that he wanted to keep Ronaldinho but it was the player’s wish to leave.

“Ronaldinho was a spectacular player,” said Guardiola.

“And when I met with him, I asked if he wanted to carry on, if he wanted to stay and he told me that he had wanted to leave for a while.”