Pep Guardiola believes that Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué will take a step into the administrative side of the game after he hangs up his boots.
Speaking in response to comments made by Fabio Capello, who he spent some time with at Roma after he left Barcelona, Guardiola said that it's not in his plan to return to Barcelona as the club's president.
The former Real Madrid and England manager said that while Guardiola might plan to step back from football management, he is not going to leave the game behind entirely.
Referencing Guardiola's hints that he was nearing the end of his career as a manager, Capello said: "I believe he already has an idea in mind. I think Guardiola will return to Barcelona as club president."
The Manchester City man shot down that idea, but he reckons that there's a perfect candidate for the job already at the Catalan club.
"I had the good fortune to be managed by Fabio Capello, and I would tell him that I will never be the president of Barcelona," said Guardiola. "For that, Gerard Piqué is already there."
Piqué has been a very vocal character throughout his time on the pitch, which has lead to some confrontations with fans and his recent retirement from the national side.
However, he has already shown himself able to take to the world of business and negotiations with ease, after the club's major new sponsorship deal with Japanese retailer Rakuten was set in motion thanks to a dinner party at his home.
Speaking about his plans for retirement, Guardiola also reiterated that he will not be in the football management game for very much longer, but that he's not finished yet.
"I'm not going to be managing when I'm 60-years-old, but hey, guys, I'm only 45. I'm in the perfect place to keep working. In the future, I would like to do something more with my life. I started playing football very early on, but perhaps it was a bit incorrect to say that I was nearing the end of my career."
Via Marca
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