How Sir Alex Ferguson almost stopped Pep Guardiola joining Bayern | OneFootball

After finishing his successful stint as coach of Barcelona, Guardiola spent a year on sabbatical in the Big Apple, during which time he hung out with former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, among others.

It was during that time that Bayern president Uli Hoeneß was in the States for a meeting about his sausage business at the headquarters of German supermarket chain Aldi and while there, he set up a meeting with Guardiola to discuss the soon-to-be-vacant manager’s position at the Allianz Arena.

But their secret rendezvous was almost ruined by Sir Alex Ferguson, who just so happened to be visiting New York at the same time.

“That is true. Uli has a big, big company for sausages in Germany. They are really good,” Guardiola told BBC Radio 5 Live this week.

“They met each other. Sir Alex invited me to have dinner together before and after he met Uli. That happened.”

Speaking to German publication Bild in 2013, Hoeneß shed more light on how he convinced Guardiola to succeed Jupp Heynckes in 2013.

“I went to Chicago first to visit Aldi. I knew that Pep was about to fly to Barcelona for his holidays and that a meeting there would have been far more dangerous, so we decided I would meet him in the States, where the risk of being spotted was smaller.

“I wanted to take him out for a meal, but that night Alex Ferguson was dining in the very same restaurant.

“It certainly would not have been funny had he seen me and Pep together.”

Guardiola went on to win three Bundesliga titles with Bayern before moving to Manchester City and even though he now works for a rival club, the Catalan maintains a deep admiration for legendary former United boss Ferguson.

“When I was a Barcelona player, around 20 or 21 years old, sometimes at Christmas time I came to buy books in London and I bought an autobiography of Sir Alex,” he said.

“It was not possible to become one of his players at the end of my career but after we played each other in Barcelona, I met him as a person and he is fantastic.

“That is a joy of being a manager in football, to meet extraordinary people. I am very happy he is recovering well [from his brain haemorrage] and when I saw him at Old Trafford again with all the people clapping, he deserved it.

“All our respect, I am so glad he is coming back [to health].”