Tony Pulis column: My quality time with Pep Guardiola – and finding his guide to Barcelona

One person I’ve deliberately omitted from the list of managers I’ve enjoyed getting to know over the years is Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.

I want to talk about Pep separately, because there were rumors that this could be his last season in English football.

I first met him when I was with West Brom. It was early in Pep’s first Premier League campaign, 2016-17, and Manchester City had just beaten us at home. After the game I made sure my assistant Dave Kemp would take the City staff out for our traditional drinks.

I didn’t join him in my room until after my post-match press conference, but there he was at the table with a glass of wine and chatting with all my staff.

People will tell you, I forced him to eat with us, while we discussed his early impressions of the Premier League and English football in general.

Having Kempi and Gerry Francis there meant that the conversation never strayed from Pep’s own journey, and the fact that he managed one of the greatest club sides of all time during his time in charge of Barcelona with Lionel Messi in his side.

He was extremely humble and declared that he could not fail to succeed – I believe he said – with six world-class players in his team and Messi, a genius who can change games in seconds.

The entire time she was in the room, she never once brushed off any of the details asked of her, and she impressed everyone present that day – even the caterers commented on how warm and engaging she was to them.

Later that same season, our away game at the Etihad Stadium was an evening kick-off and Pep came to find me after the game.

We had a drink and some food again and during our conversation Pep started his time in Barcelona. I told him I had never been but one day it might hit my to-do list.

He immediately asked for my email address and said he would invite my wife, Debs, and I to enjoy all that the city has to offer.

I’m still terrible with technology, and even worse then – so I gave him Debs’ email address because I didn’t have one.

The following weekend, after we played another Premier League game, I headed home to find that Pep had sent Debs a Barcelona to-do list that he had compiled himself and told him to make sure to contact him before going to see if he would be around at the same time.

I’m useless at accepting gifts or invitations – even like that – and we’ve never been on a trip to Barca. Maybe we’ll go one day, though – and if we hope Pep is around.

I haven’t seen him for a while since I stepped down from management in 2020, but we’ve stayed in touch. It was the same with some of the other managers I mentioned.

Last year, I helped make a documentary for Sky Sports about the release of academy players and what happens next, and Sir Alex, Carlo and Pep all gave great interviews for the programme, along with many other top managers.

Football is a family and whether you sit at the top table or not we must not lose it. Pep is a great example of someone who gets it – he didn’t just change football, he’s also a real man.