Pep Guardiola has reacted to claims by Yaya Toure accusing him of racism, questioning why the Ivorian never raised it with him personally.
The midfielder is leaving Manchester City this summer and claimed his coach for the last two seasons, plus two previous campaigns at Barcelona, has a problem with African players.
“It’s a lie and he knows it,” Guardiola stated to TV3.
“We were together for two years and now this is when he says it.
“He never told me face to face.”
Whether or not the 47-year-old will ever return to the Camp Nou is another topic he rarely breaches, but this time he was clear that becoming president or returning as coach is not on his mind.
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“No, I am a coach [not a president] and I am good at what I do, you can’t be everything,” Guardiola continued.
“When I stop coaching, you will find me playing golf.
“As the coach of Barcelona, it’s over, because I’m not the same and nor do they look towards me the same.”
Having made headlines during the Premier League season for wearing a yellow ribbon on the touchline in support of Catalonian political prisoners, the City coach gave his thoughts on protestors booing the Spanish national anthem and the state of the region’s politics.
“It doesn’t seem right to me to sing the anthem of Spain,” noted Guardiola. “But I think it is silly to remove the yellow shirts because it is not a political symbol, it is something transversal.
“It only asks for the freedom of people charged with 30 years in prison for getting into a car.
“This is what hurts the most: seeing people in prison or in exile. Nothing will be able to return to normal until that is solved.”
